Hungarian authorities uncover $20m during probe of Orbán-era minister
Prime Minister Péter Magyar promised a sweeping anti-corruption drive after ousting Orbán in April.
Noticia publicada originalmente por BBC News — World en bbc.co.uk (se abre en una pestaña nueva). Minuto 24 no es autor de este contenido.
Claves de la noticia
- Las autoridades húngaras encontraron cerca de 20 millones de dólares en efectivo escondidos en edificios agrícolas, bosques y otras ubicaciones del país.
- El hallazgo forma parte de una investigación sobre Miklós Seszták, exministro de desarrollo nacional de Viktor Orbán, acusado de aceptar sobornos vinculados a la empresa estatal de transporte.
- Seszták niega cualquier irregularidad; el dinero fue depositado en el Tesoro del Estado húngaro según la Oficina Nacional de Recuperación y Protección de Activos.
- El primer ministro Péter Magyar, que desplazó a Orbán en las elecciones de abril, calificó el hallazgo como el fin de la "mafia".
- Orbán considera que las detenciones de su hermano y otras personas, por un caso de tráfico de personas, son una venganza política.
Contexto
Hungría vivió durante 16 años bajo el gobierno de Viktor Orbán, periodo en el que se hicieron frecuentes las denuncias de corrupción y de favoritismo hacia aliados políticos, que el exprimer ministro ha rechazado. La Unión Europea llegó a describir al país como una autocracia electoral. Tras las elecciones de abril, el nuevo gobierno de Péter Magyar prometió un amplio plan contra la corrupción y ha comenzado a revertir muchas políticas de la etapa anterior. Las investigaciones sobre exministros y otros exfuncionarios muestran el alcance de esa campaña, y el caso sirve para seguir de cerca si las promesas de transparencia se traducen en procesos judiciales.
Resumen elaborado por Minuto 24 con ayuda de inteligencia artificial a partir de la noticia publicada por BBC News — World. Puede contener imprecisiones: ante cualquier duda, consulta la fuente original.
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."
