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

Key Points:

• Authorities discovered nearly $20 million in cash hidden in farm buildings and forests during an investigation into Miklós Seszták, a former minister under Viktor Orbán, accused of accepting bribes related to the state transport company; Seszták denies any wrongdoing.
• The cash, found in safes, buried in woodlands, and hidden in various buildings, amounted to approximately $19.5 million and has been deposited into the Hungarian State Treasury as part of "Operation Purgatory," an anti-corruption initiative launched by new Prime Minister Péter Magyar.
• Magyar, who defeated Orbán in a landslide election promising a crackdown on corruption, described the discovery as the end of the "mafia" and is working to reverse many Orbán-era policies amid ongoing investigations into corruption and cronyism.
• Several former officials, including Seszták and the former central bank chief Gyorgy Matolcsy, have been arrested on graft charges, while Orbán's brother was recently detained in a separate people-smuggling case, which Orbán dismissed as political retaliation.
• Orbán has characterized the investigations as a political vendetta aimed at eliminating opposition and establishing a one-party system, asserting that he is the primary target while his brother is merely a tool in this "dirty game."