Authorities in Hungary announced that they had seized 17.7 million euros in cash, some of which was buried in forests or hidden in warehouses, as part of a corruption investigation targeting Miklós Sesták, a minister in the government of nationalist former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Sestak, who served as Minister of Development from 2014 to 2018, is accused of accepting bribes in connection with a case involving the purchase of used buses by Hungary’s state-owned transportation company at inflated prices.
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The National Asset Recovery and Protection Agency (NVVH), an anti-corruption body with broad powers established by Hungary’s new government, announced that it conducted searches at multiple locations on Thursday and Friday as part of the criminal proceedings against Sestak.
“During the searches, significant amounts of cash were discovered: buried in forests, hidden in farm buildings and warehouses as well as in private residences, and stored in a high-security safe located in a remote area,” the agency stated in a press release.
“The total amount of cash located during the two-day search amounts to 5,071,632,000 forints, 2,658,350 euros, and 1,257,100 dollars,” it added, with the total amount equivalent to 17.7 million euros.
Hungarian Prime Minister Péter Mátyás, who won a landslide victory in the April elections, ending 16 years of Orbán’s rule, has pledged to launch investigations into allegations of corruption and abuse of power during his predecessor’s tenure as prime minister.
Sestak, two other former ministers, and Orbán’s brother have been arrested and are being held in connection with separate cases.
The announcement of the seizure of these funds by the NVVH “officially marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia!” Májar commented, referring to the two parties that were part of the governing coalition under Orbán.
The former prime minister has not commented on these latest developments, but has in the past denounced the investigations targeting people in his inner circle, characterizing them as “political prosecutions aimed at imprisoning him.”
Source: Proto Thema
