Seizure of €17.7m in Hungary against Orbán's former minister
Hungarian authorities have seized cash worth €17.7 million in investigations into corruption against former minister Miklós Szécstak. The money was found buried in forests, stored in warehouses and in private residences.
Hungary: €17.7m seized in investigation into former minister's corruption
According to Ethnos, Hungarian authorities have seized cash totalling €17.7 million as part of a criminal investigation into corruption involving Miklós Szécstak, a former minister in the government of Viktor Orbán.
The money was discovered during a series of raids conducted on Thursday and Friday at multiple locations. Hungary's National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection Service, NVVH, announced that the amounts were found buried in forests, hidden in agricultural buildings and warehouses, in private residences, as well as inside a safe deposit box at a remote location.
Exact amounts and charges against Szécstak
The total amount discovered over two days amounts to, according to the NVVH, 5,071,632,000 forints, €2,658,350 and $1,257,100 – with a total value equivalent to €17.7 million.
Szécstak served as Minister of Development from 2014 to 2018. He is accused of accepting bribes in a matter connected to the purchase of second-hand buses from Hungary's state transport company at inflated prices. The NVVH, an anti-corruption body with broad powers established by the new Hungarian government, clarified that the investigations were conducted as part of the criminal proceedings against him.
Broader investigations into the Orbán era
The case is part of a wider wave of investigations into allegations of corruption and abuse of power during Viktor Orbán's period in office. Beyond Szécstak, two other former ministers and Orbán's brother have already been arrested and are in custody as part of separate cases.
Hungary's current prime minister, Péter Magyar, has publicly committed to investigating all allegations relating to the previous administration's period in office. Magyar won the April elections, ending 16 consecutive years of Orbán's rule.
Following the announcement of the seizure, Magyar stated that the development "formally marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia", referring to the two parties that made up the governing coalition under Orbán.
Orbán's stance
The former prime minister has not commented on the latest developments surrounding the cash seizure. In the past, however, he had denounced the investigations into people from his circle, characterising them as "political persecution aimed at his imprisonment".
Source: Ethnos