More than €17 million of cash found buried in forests, hidden in warehouses and safes in case of former Fidesz-era minister

The National Office for Asset Recovery and Protection (NVVH) carried out investigative operations at several locations across Hungary in connection with the criminal case against Miklós Seszták, the office announced on Friday. On November 12 and 13, operations were carried out in Budapest and in Pest, Békés, and Nógrád counties. As the agency stated:

“During the search, investigators found large amounts of cash buried in forests, hidden in agricultural buildings and warehouses and residential properties, and stored in valuable safes in concealed locations.”

A total of 5,071,632,000 forints, 2,658,350 euros (969 million forints), and 1,257,100 U.S. dollars (415 million forints) were found, amounting to approximately 6.45 billion forints (€17 million 632 thousand). NVVH staff already deposited the money into the Hungarian State Treasury on Friday.

The Office thanked the staff of the Criminal Technical Department of the National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) and the Rapid Response Police for their assistance, as well as the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) and the Hungarian State Treasury for their cooperation. The NVVH posted a photo of the seized money on Facebook:

The agency also posted a video, specifically thanking its staff for going out to dig in the forest during the bad November weather:

Miklós Seszták, the former Minister of National Development and a member of Parliament representing Fidesz's longtime coalition partner, the Christian Democratic People's Party (KDNP) was arrested in late September on suspicion of corruption. One of the key parts of the case against him is the Volánbusz affair, in which authorities are investigating several procurements carried out between 2015 and 2018, which are suspected of having been overpriced. According to the allegations, the Volán companies purchased more than 600 used buses at prices significantly higher than their market value, thereby causing damage amounting to 10 billion forints to state-owned companies. The investigation also covers the purchase of a property in Kecskemét, for which Volán is suspected of having paid at least 550 million forints more than its actual value.

The purchases were carried out through multiple companies using complex leasing and intermediary arrangements. According to investigators, the money generated from overpricing was funneled into the interests of those involved through intermediary companies and fictitious loan agreements.

At the time, the ownership rights of the Volán companies were exercised by the Hungarian National Asset Management Agency (MNV), which was led by Norbert Szivek and fell under the supervision of Seszták’s ministry. The investigation is also looking into what role the management of the MNV played in approving the controversial arrangements. According to the prosecutor’s office, Seszták and Szivek acquired a total of 11 billion forints this way. Billionaire businessman Dániel Jellinek has also been named as a suspect in the corruption case. One of his companies is suspected of having participated in the transfer of funds through loan transactions. Seszták denies committing any crimes.

In late October, the authorities also arrested one of Miklós Seszták’s confidants, who is suspected of acting as a money courier assisting in the pickup and transportation of the illegally obtained funds.

At an earlier stage in the investigation, two empty safes were found in an office building in Kisvárda linked to Seszták. Based on a suspect’s confession and a sniffer dog’s indication, investigators assumed that the safes may have previously contained 9 billion forints in cash. Seszták denied this, and a professional and legal debate arose over the evidentiary value of the dog’s indication.

Prime Minister Péter Magyar reacted to these developments on Friday evening, commenting on his Facebook page: “This officially marks the end of the Fidesz-KDNP mafia!” Finance Minister András Kármán wrote: “After the money was delivered, it took 12 employees of the Treasury 8 hours to count the money using 5 counting machines.”

Responding to Telex’s request for comment on the discovery, Fidesz’s press secretary, Bertalan Havasi wrote: “Since the transition to democracy, every elected representative in Hungary has sworn to uphold the law and ensure that it is observed. Fidesz–KDNP cannot associate with anyone who fails to abide by this oath. We trust that the images published by the NVVH have nothing to do with Miklós Seszták.”