Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier today announced that Hungary has returned funds and valuables belonging to state-owned Oschadbank that Hungarian law enforcement seized in March.
The March 5 incident involved currency and precious metals that were being transported from Austria to Ukraine. At the time, two armored cash-in-transit vehicles and seven bank employees were detained on Hungarian territory. The vehicles were later returned, but the cash and gold remained in Hungary. Ukrainian authorities said Hungary was holding around $40 million, €35 million (over $41 million), and 9 kilograms of bank gold.
Hungarian authorities said they suspected possible money laundering and launched an investigation. Oschadbank said that the transport was a routine operation carried out under a contract with Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said that the shipment had been processed in full compliance with all international regulations and that the Hungarian side had been notified about the procedure in advance. Despite that, Kyiv said the cash-in-transit staff, who were listed aswitnesses, were held for more than a day in handcuffs and blindfolds. Ukraine also reported problems with the detainees’ access to medical care.
On March 6, Hungary deported all the bank employees and banned them from entering the Schengen Area for three years.
Hungarian authorities had earlier said that the seized currency and gold would remain in the country during an investigation into their origin and intended use.
According to the Hungarian outlet Telex, Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár linked the situation to tensions between Budapest and Kyiv over the suspension of oil deliveries via the Druzhba pipeline. He said that Hungary did not intend to return the funds until the situation was resolved and described the transport of large sums of cash as “suspicious.”
Now, according to Zelensky, the seized assets have been returned to Ukraine. The terms of the return have not been disclosed.
