Hungarian authorities seize massive cash amounts during corruption raid involving former minister

Hungarian authorities conducted a two-day raid on Thursday and Friday, seizing large amounts of cash during an investigation into former minister Miklós Seszták. The Hungarian National Office for Asset Recovery and Protection (NVVH) coordinated the operations, which took place across Budapest and the Pest, Békés, and Nógrád counties. The operation involved emergency police, criminal technicians from the National Investigation Agency, and financial administration officials.

During the searches, investigators located cash buried in forests and hidden within agricultural buildings, warehouses, and residential properties. The seized funds included 5,071,632,000 forints, 2,658,350 euros, and 1,257,100 US dollars. The NVVH has transferred the seized money to the Hungarian State Treasury. During a search at the home of Miklós Seszták in Kisvárda, officials found two empty safes, each weighing 1.6 tons. Authorities suspect that up to 9 billion forints may have been stored in those safes previously.

Corruption investigation and legal proceedings

The investigation is linked to a corruption case involving the state bus carrier Volánbusz. Authorities suspect Miklós Seszták of accepting bribes through intermediaries between 2015 and 2018. It is alleged that Miklós Seszták obtained illegal benefits exceeding 11 billion forints. Miklós Seszták served as the Minister of National Development from 2014 to 2018 and is a Member of Parliament for the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP).

Miklós Seszták was detained at the end of September after losing parliamentary immunity. A court has extended the detention of Miklós Seszták until January 30, 2027, citing risks regarding flight and the potential for tampering with the investigation. Regarding the discovery of the cash, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said, "The Fidesz-KDNP mafia is officially finished due to the discovery of the cash."

Scope of the operation

The scale of the seizure highlights the intensity of the ongoing probe. The coordinated effort by the NVVH and the National Investigation Agency focused on recovering assets believed to be linked to the alleged bribery scheme. While the exact conversion of the forint amount into euros varies slightly between different reports, the total amount of cash recovered remains one of the largest in recent local investigations.

Glossary

• counties — Counties are administrative areas. Some current local government areas are not represented by a flower, and some of the counties included no longer exist as administrative areas.
• forints — The forint is a currency. It is used in transactions, such as the acquisition of an estate from the Royal Chamber.
• Kisvárda — Kisvárda is a town.