Hungarian authorities uncover $20m during probe of Orbán-era minister

Nearly $20m (£14.8m) in cash has been found hidden in farm buildings and buried in forests as part of an investigation into a former minister of Viktor Orbán, authorities have said.

Miklós Seszták, who served as minister of national development for four of the ex-prime minister's 16-year rule, is accused of accepting bribes as part of a scheme involving the state transport company. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Hungary's new Prime Minister Péter Magyar unseated Orbán in a landslide election in April on the promise of launching a sweeping anti-corruption drive.

On Friday, following the two-day search for the cash - found in secluded locations across the country - Magyar described it as the end of the "mafia".

Investigators found wads of banknotes in safes, buried in woodlands and hidden in agricultural and residential buildings and warehouses, as part of the probe into Seszták, the National Asset Recovery and Protection Office (NVVH) said in a statement.

The cash amounted to "5,071,632,000 forints, €2,658,350 and $1,257,100", it added, bringing the combined value to $19.5m. It has been deposited into the Hungarian State Treasury, the body said.

The NVVH was established to investigate allegations of corruption during the Orbán rule, which Magyar has dubbed "Operation Purgatory".

Magyar promised Hungarians "regime change" during the election earlier this year and has set about undoing many Orbán-era policies since entering office.

Allegations of corruption and cronyism have long dogged Orbán, who during the course of his tenure turned Hungary into what the EU characterised as an "electoral autocracy".

His government faced accusations of offering lucrative government projects to allies. Orbán has strongly denied the claims.

Two of his former ministers, including Seszták, and the former central bank chief Gyorgy Matolcsy have been under arrest since September over accusations of graft in separate investigations. They all deny wrongdoing.

On Monday, Hungarian authorities also detained Orbán's brother and three others as part of a people-smuggling case.

The former prime minister ​dismissed it as political revenge, saying: "In this dirty game, ​the aim is the elimination of the political opponent and the establishment of a one-party system.

"I am the target, my younger brother is just a tool."

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