Tensions between Ukraine and Hungary continue to escalate. After Volodymyr Zelensky publicly accused Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of blocking financial assistance to Ukraine and made a sharp remark directed at him, Budapest signaled it may restrict transit through Hungary—an important route for Kyiv. Against this backdrop, authorities in the capital detained two armored cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to Ukraine’s Oschadbank carrying tens of millions of dollars and euros, along with seven bank employees. Kyiv is demanding their immediate release.
Hungarian authorities have detained two armored cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to Ukraine’s Oschadbank and seven bank employees in Budapest, the bank itself said.
The incident occurred a day earlier during the transport of currency and banking metals between Raiffeisen Bank in Austria and Oschadbank. The convoy was accompanied by a team of seven cash-in-transit guards. The vehicles were carrying valuables worth $40 million, €35 million and about 9 kg of gold.
According to the bank, the transport was carried out under an official international agreement with Raiffeisen Bank Austria and was processed in accordance with international regulations and European customs procedures.
GPS data indicate that the vehicles are currently located in central Budapest near one of the country’s security agencies. Ukrainian media report that the site may be the premises of Hungary’s Counter-Terrorism Centre, which operates under the country’s Ministry of the Interior.
The whereabouts of the bank employees remain unknown at this time—contact with them has been lost.
Oschadbank said the transport was conducted under an international agreement with the Austrian bank and processed in accordance with European customs rules. The bank is demanding the immediate release of its employees and the return of the detained assets.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that “Hungarian authorities have taken seven Ukrainian citizens hostage.” According to him, Kyiv has already sent an official note to the Hungarian side and intends to appeal to the European Union to provide a legal assessment of Budapest’s actions.
The National Bank of Ukraine has also demanded the immediate release of the employees and an official explanation for their detention.
Updated at 9:43 AM
Hungarian authorities said the detention of cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to Ukraine’s Oschadbank is linked to an investigation into possible money laundering.
According to media reports citing Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), among the seven detainees is a former general of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) who was responsible for escorting and managing the transported cargo.
Investigators say that two armored cash-in-transit vehicles were carrying $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine. Hungarian authorities also claim that in just over two months of this year the same route was used to transport more than $900 million, €420 million, and 146 kilograms of gold bullion.
Budapest also said Ukrainian law-enforcement authorities had been notified of the detention, but according to Hungarian officials no response has been received from Kyiv.
The incident comes amid a sharp deterioration in relations between Kyiv and Budapest. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had earlier demanded that Ukraine restore the flow of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline to Hungary and Slovakia and warned he could halt several supplies that are important for Ukraine.
Orbán also said Hungary has already halted gasoline deliveries to Ukraine and may restrict other forms of transit until Kyiv agrees to restore supplies of Russian oil through the pipeline.
“We have stopped gasoline deliveries to Ukraine, we will not supply diesel fuel either, but we will continue to supply electricity, and we will also suspend supplies through Hungary that are important for Ukraine until Ukraine agrees to supply oil,” the Hungarian prime minister said in an interview with Kossuth Radio.
This is not the first sharp and undiplomatic remark Volodymyr Zelensky has directed at the Hungarian prime minister. Speaking at the Munich Security Conference, he also criticized Viktor Orbán for his approach to defense and security issues. According to the Ukrainian president, the Hungarian leader should think not about personal comfort but about the country’s ability to defend itself from external threats. “Viktor may think about how to grow his belly rather than how to build up an army to stop Russian tanks from returning to the streets of Budapest,” Zelensky said.