Kyiv is seeking help from the EU to recover money and valuables seized by Hungary last week, while Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ordered the government to hold cash and gold seized from a Ukrainian bank for up to 60 days amid an ongoing investigation.
Ukraine is seeking legal action against the seizure of money and valuables during transit on Hungarian territory, authorities in Kyiv told Euronews on Tuesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) told Euronews that it is “initiating an independent international audit into the processes and contractual relations of all those involved in the foreign exchange’s transit.”
“The Governor of the National Bank Andriy Pyshnyy sent official letters to European partners to ensure that this incident does not go unanswered," NBU said.
The NBU told Euronews that its appeals are addressed to the management of the European Central Bank, the Austrian Central Bank, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets (DG FISMA), the office of EU foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, and others.
"We are convinced that the rule of law must remain a core value within the EU. The arbitrary actions of the Hungarian side undermine European efforts to support Ukraine and pose a threat to the institutional capacity and reputation of the entire European Union," Pyshnyy told Euronews.
"We have sent relevant requests to our partners. They must be able to obtain all the necessary information and access to documents and provide their assessment of the actions of the Hungarian side," he said.
The NBU also reiterated that, to remove all questions and manipulations, it was the first to advocate for a transparent and comprehensive investigation.
Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank, whose employees and valuables were seized in Hungary last Thursday, submitted to the National Bank “a complete set of supporting documents confirming the legality of the transportation of currency valuables through Hungary and the presence of the cash collection team that accompanied the cargo.”
“The relevant NBU services checked these documents and found no reservations about them," the bank said.
Budapest to hold Ukrainian money for 60 days
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ordered the government to hold cash and gold seized from a Ukrainian bank for up to 60 days amid an ongoing investigation.
Hungarian authorities seized two vehicles belonging to Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank on Thursday while they were carrying $40 million, another €35 million, and 9 kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine via Hungary.
Budapest linked the shipment's detention to suspicions of money laundering.
Hungarian Transport Minister János Lázár alleged that the government has evidence of Ukraine funding the opposition Tisza Party, which is leading Orbán's Fidesz in polls ahead of the April elections.
Ukraine’s state Oschadbank denied any links to the Hungarian opposition and said that the vehicles were carrying out a routine transfer from Austria's Raiffeisen Bank to Kyiv. The NBU told Euronews that the transit is routine.
“Transporting cash only by land has been the norm since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” the NBU said, adding that before 2022, it used to be done by air.
“The demand for cash currency is caused by objective reasons related to the full-scale war”.
When asked if other countries besides Hungary have been involved in similar transports since the start of Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine in early 2022, the NBU told Euronews “the routes used to transport currency valuables are classified information”.
“At the same time, the National Bank of Ukraine has communicated with all banks that carry out cross-border transportation of valuables and recommended that they develop alternative logistics routes that exclude travel through countries where there is a risk of transportation being blocked," the NBU said.
Kyiv has denounced the Oschadbank shipment detention as "state terrorism" and demanded the return of the funds.
Currently, Oschadbank and its lawyers are working to clarify all the circumstances of the case and are in contact with the Hungarian side to resolve issues related to the return of the cargo and protect the interests of the financial institution and its employees, the NBU confirmed to Euronews.
On Monday, Fidesz submitted a bill to parliament to legalise the seizure of Ukrainian cash and gold until the investigation concludes.
"Hungary is falling down a spiral of lawlessness," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha responded, calling the proposed bill a "de facto recognition that Hungary's actions lack any legal grounds".
The episode marks further escalation in already strained relations between the two countries.
'Physical and psychological pressure' on detained staff
Ukraine's foreign ministry said seven employees of state-owned Oschadbank were subjected to "physical and psychological pressure" in custody, as they spent 28 hours in detention in Hungary.
Kyiv has denounced the detention as "hostage-taking".
The ministry said the employees were officially classified as witnesses but were transported blindfolded and handcuffed. Their arrest involved an armoured personnel carrier, and anti-terrorist unit operatives carrying out the operation armed with machine guns.
Hungarian authorities confiscated the detainees' personal belongings, including mobile phones, preventing them from informing relatives about their whereabouts, Kyiv said.
Most of the items were not returned after their release.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry also revealed that one of the detainees, who has diabetes, experienced a deterioration in their health while in custody and reportedly received medical assistance only after losing consciousness.
The person was injected with a drug that sharply increased their blood sugar level and caused hypertension, after which they were hospitalised, according to the ministry.
Kyiv stated that Oschadbank employees were denied access to legal representation and were not allowed to meet with a consul despite repeated requests from both the detainees and the embassy.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry also said that "in violation of all generally accepted norms," the detainees were denied the right to testify in their native language, Ukrainian, and were instead questioned in Russian.