Anti-corruption agency carried out searches as part of investigation into Orbán-era minister accused of taking bribes
Hungary’s anti-corruption agency said on Friday it had seized cash worth $19.5m (£14.8m) buried in forests and hidden elsewhere while investigating an ex-minister of nationalist former leader Viktor Orbán.
Miklós Seszták, Hungary’s minister of national development between 2014 and 2018, is accused of taking bribes in a scheme involving the state transport company, purchasing secondhand buses at inflated prices.
The prime minister, Péter Magyar, won a landslide election victory in April, ending Orbán’s 16 years in power after promising to investigate alleged corruption and abuse of office during his rival’s rule.
Seszták, two other Orbán-era ministers and the former premier’s brother have been taken into custody in different cases as graft inquiries have gathered pace in recent weeks.
The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH), an anti-graft body with sweeping powers established as part of Magyar’s accountability drive, said it searched multiple locations on Thursday and Friday as part of the criminal proceedings against Seszták.
“During the search, investigators found large amounts of cash: buried in forests, hidden in agricultural and warehouse buildings as well as residential properties, and stored in high-value safes in secluded locations,” the statement said.
