Hungary Seizes Over $18M in Buried Cash Linked to Ex

Hungarian anti-corruption authorities have seized more than 5 billion forints ($14.5 million) alongside millions of euros and US dollars in cash hidden underground and in concealed safes during coordinated searches linked to former National Development Minister Miklós Seszták, the National Asset Recovery and Protection Agency (NVVH) announced.

According to an official statement, NVVH investigators carried out synchronized searches across multiple locations in Budapest and the counties of Pest, Békés, and Nógrád on Nov. 12 and Nov. 13 as part of an ongoing criminal probe involving Seszták, a sitting member of parliament who served in the cabinet of former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán .

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During the two-day operation, investigators uncovered large quantities of physical currency buried in forested areas, concealed inside agricultural structures and storage warehouses, hidden within a residential dwelling, and locked inside a heavy safe installed in a secret compartment.

Authorities reported that the total volume of seized cash amounted to 5,071,632,000 Hungarian forints ($14.5 million), €2,658,350 ($2.86 million), and $1,257,100 in US currency.

NVVH officials confirmed that the confiscated funds have been formally deposited into the Hungarian State Treasury.

Hungary’s broader anti-corruption drive

The seizure marks the latest escalation in an anti-corruption campaign launched by hPrime Minister Péter Magyar , whose pro-European conservative movement ended Orbán’s 16-year rule following a landslide parliamentary election victory in April.

Magyar took office pledging to investigate systemic state capture, alleged embezzlement, and abuse of public office during the administration, establishing the NVVH with broad statutory powers to trace and recover misappropriated state assets.

Earlier this week, on Monday, Nov. 9, Hungarian police took Orbán’s brother, Áron Orbán, into custody in connection with a human trafficking and visa facilitation investigation conducted jointly by the National Bureau of Investigation (NNI) and the NVVH across Budapest and Pest County.

Investigative journalists previously linked a company associated with Áron Orbán to an illicit scheme offering foreign nationals preferential access to Hungarian work visas in exchange for payments.

Viktor Orbán denounced his brother’s detention on as a “dirty game,” claiming that he was the real political target of the new government.