Hungarian prosecutors and police have seized around 92 billion forints ($300 million) in funds and securities in a money laundering probe of foundations set up by the National Bank of Hungary, Reuters reported Friday. 

Prosecutors and police searched the premises of 17 legal entities over the previous two days as part of an investigation into “mismanagement of funds causing a particularly significant loss,” and seized large volumes of documents and data, the news agency said. The probe so far affects 97 individuals, 36 businesses, and 11 private equity funds, prosecutors have said.

The money-laundering investigation concerns transactions linked directly or indirectly to the Pallas Athene Domus Meriti Foundation, known as PADME, and the Neumann foundation, both set up by the central bank under previous management, senior police official Zoltan Istvan Kiss told the briefing, according to Reuters. The first seizure took place on April 23, 2025, and the total had reached almost 92 billion forints in bank accounts and securities as of Friday, Kiss said.

PADME’s asset management firm managed nearly 500 billion forints in assets, of which 407 billion forints came from public funds, according to the State Audit Office, Reuters reported. The investments were made through an “opaque corporate and investment structure” involving companies and private equity funds, the audit office said in its March 2025 report cited by the agency, adding that its audit had established suspicion of several criminal offenses and prompted a complaint to the prosecutor’s office.

The State Audit Office last year also filed a criminal complaint for suspected mismanagement of public assets at the Neumann university foundation, also set up by the National Bank of Hungary, according to the report.

The central bank is cooperating with prosecutors and has provided documents for the case, which dates back to before its current governor took office, prosecutors said.

Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who ousted Viktor Orban in an election last month, has said the central bank’s past operations must be investigated, and his ruling party is setting up a parliamentary committee for that purpose.