Hungarian authorities uncover millions hidden by former Orban officials in forests, warehouses

Detailed summary

"More than 6 billion forints' worth of cash, buried or otherwise concealed, was found and seized yesterday and today by the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office," Prime Minister Peter Magyar said.

Hungarian authorities uncovered more than $18 million hidden by allies of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban across the country, Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced Nov. 13.

"More than 6 billion forints' worth of cash, buried or otherwise concealed, was found and seized yesterday and today by the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) as part of the criminal investigation into Miklos Sesztak, a former minister in (Orban's) government," he said in a post on the social media platform X.

The searches come as Magyar came to power in a landslide victory months earlier in April on promises of reform, anti-corruption, and closer alignment with the EU. The election ended Orban's 16 years in power — an administration considered one of the EU's warmest to Moscow.

The seized money was found buried in forests, hidden in warehouses, inside a home, and stored in a high-value safe hidden at a secret location, Hungary's NVVH said in a statement shared by Magyar.

The agency uncovered the funds on Nov. 12 and 13 in operations in the cities of Budapest and Pest, as well as in the Bekes and Nograd counties.

"The total amount of cash recovered during the two-day operation was 5,071,632,000 forints, 2,658,350 euros and ($1,257,100). The cash was deposited with the Hungarian State Treasury by NVVH personnel today," the agency's statement read.

Sesztak served as National Development Minister from 2014 to 2018 after being first elected to the country's parliament in 2010. He remains a member of parliament for the far-right Christian Democratic People's Party, also known as the KDNP in Hungary.

The party has been a coalition partner to Orbán's far-right Fidesz party since 2005.

Polish Prime Minister welcomed the move in a post on X, sharing that Orban's brother, Aron Orban, was arrested days earlier as part of a people-smuggling investigation.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Kyiv Independent. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.