Photo credit: The National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH)
Hungarian authorities said an investigation into the activities of one of the ministers in the government of former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has found cash equivalent to $20 million (6.620 billion Hungarian forints). The money was hidden on farms and in forest hiding places.
Miklos Szesztak served as Minister of National Development for four years. He is accused of accepting bribes from the state transport company. The former minister denies allegations of abuse.
The investigation against Seshtak is part of the anti-corruption campaign announced by the new Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who won the elections in April this year.
On Friday, after a two-day search for cash led to caches in several remote locations across Hungary, Magyar said the "mafia" was over.
The results of the search were reported by the National Office for Asset Protection and Recovery (NVVH). The organization was created to investigate allegations of corruption during Viktor Orban's 16-year rule. Prime Minister Magyar calls his work “Operation Purgatory.”
image copyrightNVVH
Investigators working the Seshtak case found stacks of banknotes in safes buried in forests or hidden on farms, homes and warehouses. In cash, 5 billion 71 million 632 thousand Hungarian forints, 2 million 658 thousand 350 euros and 1 million 257 thousand 100 dollars were found. Converted to dollars, the Office reported, the amount is 19.5 million.
In the election campaign this spring, Magyar promised the nation “regime change” and after his victory began dismantling much of what was created during the Orbán years. The work of the former prime minister for many years was accompanied by accusations of corruption and distribution of attractive positions to his closest associates. People close to him, as Orban’s critics said, also received lucrative government projects.
In addition to Seshtak, another minister and the former head of the Hungarian Central Bank, Gyorgi Matolsi, are under arrest on charges of criminal profit. They also deny the charges against them.
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Last Monday, Hungarian authorities detained Viktor Orbán's brother and three others on charges of human smuggling.
The former prime minister calls it political revenge. “In this dirty game, the goal is to eliminate the political opponent and create a one-party system. I am the goal, and my little brother is just a means,” Orbán said.
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