Hungary finds over 400 million crowns in cash, some buried in forests

Hungary's NVVH office has uncovered cash worth more than 400 million crowns, part of it buried in forests. The trail leads to former minister and member of parliament Seszták, who is in custody on suspicion of corruption.

The office said on Facebook on Friday that the cash was found over the past two days during searches in various parts of the country. According to the office, the money was buried in forests, hidden in agricultural and storage buildings, and kept in safes in residential premises. Investigators seized forints, euros and US dollars and handed them over to the state treasury.

The searches were carried out as part of a criminal case against Seszták, whose parliamentary immunity has been lifted. He is in custody on suspicion of corruption involving 11 billion forints (740 million crowns).

Counting the money took eight hours: twelve treasury employees worked on five counting machines. Prime Minister Péter Magyar (Tisza) said on Facebook that Viktor Orbán is now a “proven mafia boss,” called Fidesz a criminal organization and added that the “Fidesz mafia” has officially come to an end.

Since Magyar's government came to power, not only Seszták but also former central bank governor György Matolcsy, former culture minister Balázs Hankó and the younger brother of ex-prime minister Viktor Orbán, Áron, have ended up in custody. The opposition Fidesz party mostly calls them “political prisoners.”

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz