Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said the cash transfers posed ’serious questions about a possible link to the Ukrainian war mafia.’
Hungarian authorities said on March 6 that they had detained seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former intelligence officer, on suspicion of money laundering and seized two armored cars carrying $80 million in cash and $1.5 million worth of gold.
“We demand immediate answers from Kyiv regarding large cash shipments passing through Hungary that raise serious questions about a possible link to the Ukrainian war mafia,” Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto posted on X
Kyiv, however, says the March 5 operation was unwarranted and interfered with the operations of a state-owned bank, Oschadbank, which was transferring money between Austria and Ukraine “as part of regular services between state banks.”
“We are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money. … This is state terrorism and racketeering,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X.
Oschadbank said in a statement that $40 million in U.S. dollars, 35 million euros ($40.4 million) in cash, and 19.8 pounds of gold—worth around $1.5 million—had been seized by Hungary.
Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration said on March 6 that it had detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized the two armored vehicles used to transport cash. It said it was investigating suspected money laundering.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry posted on X that Ukraine’s National Police had opened criminal proceedings over the “hostage-taking of Ukrainian citizens” and the abduction of at least one bank vehicle.
“Ukrainian police have filed official requests to Europol, Hungary’s tax and customs service, and Hungarian police,” the ministry posted on X.
Ukraine and Hungary share an 80-mile border, but relations between the two countries have been frosty in recent years.
Hungary and neighboring Slovakia have maintained closer ties with Moscow than other European Union member states and disagreed with Brussels over military support for Ukraine.
On Feb. 23, Hungary vetoed new EU sanctions on Russia and a huge loan for Ukraine amid a dispute over oil supplies.
