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The discoveries prompted leaders of the opposition Fidesz-KDNP alliance to demand that he surrender his parliamentary seat, while his lawyer denied the money belonged to him.
The National Asset Recovery and Asset Protection Office said the searches took place Nov. 12-13 at locations in Budapest and Pest, Békés and Nógrád counties.
Investigators recovered HUF 5.07 billion, EUR 2.66 million and USD 1.26 million in cash. The money was deposited with the State Treasury on Friday, the office said.
Seszták, a lawmaker for the Christian Democratic People’s Party, known as KDNP, is suspected of accepting more than HUF 11 bln in bribes.
His lawyer told news portal Telex that the seized money did not belong to his client.
KDNP parliamentary group leader Bence Rétvári called on Seszták to relinquish his mandate Saturday and urged him to clear his name in the suspected bribery case.
Fidesz parliamentary group leader János Bóka also demanded that Seszták surrender his seat without delay. In a Facebook video, Bóka said Seszták had the right to defend himself and clear his name in court, but should do so without retaining his parliamentary position.
“The dignity of the political community demands it,” Bóka said.
KDNP deputy leader Csaba Latorcai announced the initiation of proceedings by the party’s disciplinary and ethics committee. He also requested the suspension of Seszták’s party membership for the duration of those proceedings.
In a separate statement, Fidesz said it trusted Seszták had “nothing to do” with photographs of stacks of banknotes released by investigators. The party said lawmakers swear an oath to uphold the law and that the Fidesz-KDNP alliance could not associate with MPs who violated that oath.
Finance Minister András Kármán said 12 Treasury employees had spent eight hours counting the seized cash using five banknote counters.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar also commented on the discoveries in a Facebook post late Friday, describing the seizure as marking the end of what he called the “Fidesz-KDNP mafia.”
The asset recovery office’s announcement detailed the cash recovered during the searches but did not establish ownership of the money in the information provided.
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