The Nemzeti Vagyonvisszaszerzési és Vagyonvédelmi Hivatal (NVVH) carried out operations in several counties on November 12 and 13 related to the criminal investigation of Seszták Miklós, uncovering substantial amounts of cash hidden in forests, agricultural and warehouse buildings, a residential property, and a concealed safe. The agency published a photograph showing the total of roughly HUF 6.5 billion in cash, taken at the end of the treasury counting process.
Because the image is of relatively low quality, some online commentators and automated MI (AI) image-checking services questioned its authenticity. Certain pro-government influencers claimed the photo showed play money or was entirely generated by artificial intelligence.
A closer inspection of the NVVH photo identified several points that argue against AI generation:
- Repeated details on the banknotes — for example the "500" markings on the euro notes and the Deák Ferenc portraits on the HUF 20,000 bills — appear intact and error-free. Such consistent repetition tends to be where AI image generators commonly make mistakes.
- Small, repeated details and logos visible at the right edge of the image, and the correct perspective across the scene, are elements that AI often fails to reproduce accurately.
- The most-cited oddity was an oblique striping on the edges of the forint bundles, which led some to call the image artificial. The explanation offered is that this is not an AI artifact or JPEG compression error but a reflection: there is a glass pane in front of the forint bundles, and that pane produces mirrored stripes. The same reflection is visible on the display case at the right edge of the picture.
NVVH spokesperson Unger Anna told reporters that the photograph was taken by colleagues after nearly forty hours of continuous duty during the final stage of the treasury counting. "Even the suggestion that AI made it is offensive. The NVVH made it," she said.
On balance, the NVVH and the image details point to reflections on a glass surface as the source of the visual anomalies, and there is no substantiated evidence that the photograph was artificially generated or manipulated.
