HUNGARY RECOVERS NEARLY $20 MILLION IN CASH BURIED IN FORESTS AMID MASSIVE CORRUPTION PROBE
Budapest, Hungary | 14 November 2026
Hungarian authorities have recovered approximately US$19.5 million in cash, some of it buried underground in forests, in a major corruption investigation involving a former government minister.
The extraordinary discovery was made during coordinated searches conducted on November 12 and 13 in Budapest and three other regions of Hungary.
Investigators uncovered huge bundles of banknotes hidden in forests, farm buildings, warehouses, residential properties and high-security safes.
The recovered money included more than 5 billion Hungarian forints, €2.66 million and US$1.26 million.
According to Hungary’s Finance Minister András Kármán, it took 12 Treasury employees eight hours, using five counting machines, to count the enormous amount of cash.
The investigation centres on former National Development Minister Miklós Seszták, who served under former Prime Minister Viktor Orbán between 2014 and 2018.
Seszták is suspected of receiving more than US$37 million in bribes and kickbacks linked to government construction contracts and the purchase of overpriced buses by a state transport company.
He was detained in September and has denied wrongdoing. His lawyer has maintained that the recovered cash does not belong to him.
The discovery comes as Hungary’s new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, intensifies a nationwide anti-corruption campaign following his election victory over Orbán in April 2026, ending the former leader’s 16 years in power.
The campaign, dubbed Operation Purgatory, has already seen several former senior government officials detained in separate corruption investigations.
Authorities have transferred the recovered money to the Hungarian State Treasury as investigations continue.
The dramatic discovery has sparked renewed debate over corruption, accountability and the alleged misuse of public funds during Hungary’s previous administration.