Kyiv claims Hungarian authorities kidnapped seven employees of the Ukrainian Oschadbank, together with a large quantity of cash and gold, and has warned its citizens to avoid transiting Hungary.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has accused Hungary of kidnapping seven employees of a Ukrainian state savings bank alongside a large amount of cash and gold.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
According to Ukraine's Oschadbank, a van carrying personnel and some $75 million (€65 million) was intercepted in central Budapest. The vehicle was transporting cash from Austria to Ukraine. Kyiv says it has lost all contact with the van's staff.
The incident signals a dramatic escalation in already angry relations between the two countries, a day after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded accusations and referenced the possible use of force.
"In Budapest, Hungarian authorities took seven Ukrainian citizens hostage," Ukraine's Foreign Minister Sybiha said in a post on X. "In fact, we are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money," he added.
Sybiha released another statement in the morning, saying Hungary did not provide any information about Ukrainians "taken hostage in Budapest".
"We demand their immediate release and prepare next actions, including at the EU level" the minister said.
In another tweet, Sybiha referred to the events as "state terrorism."
Hungary launches money laundering investigation
Oschadbank has released a statement calling for the release of its employees and describing Hungary's actions as unjustified.
"Oschadbank demands the immediate release of its employees and property and their return to Ukraine," the statement said.
According to the bank, the trucks carried $40 million, €35 million and 9kg of gold. It added that the convoy was organised in agreement with Austria's Raiffeisen Bank.
"The cargo was registered in accordance with international transportation rules and current European customs procedures," the bank insisted
Hungary's National Tax and Customs Administration, meanwhile, issued a statement of its own saying that a criminal investigation into alleged money laundering has been launched.
The statement says that on 5 March, seven Ukrainian nationals were arrested, including a former Ukrainian intelligence general, with two armoured cash trucks also seized.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also issued a statement directed at Kyiv.
"The government demands immediate answers and explanations from Ukraine on the cash shipments through Hungary. The question arises whether this is the money from the Ukrainian war mafia," Szijjártó said.
Witnesses told Hungarian press that the raid was conducted overnight in a highway parking facility by Hungary's anti-terror police TEK.
Ukraine issued a travel warning for Ukrainians
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a travel warning telling Ukrainians to avoid transiting Hungary if possible.
"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that Ukrainian citizens refrain from travelling to Hungary due to the lack of guarantees of their safety against the backdrop of arbitrary actions by the Hungarian authorities," the statement says, asking Ukrainians to look for other transit routes.
Budapest and Kyiv are locked in a bitter row over the shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline carrying cheap Russian oil to Hungary through Ukraine. The pipeline was struck in a suspected Russian attack in late January and has not been repaired since.
Hungary has accused Ukraine of using the issue for political blackmail.
On Thursday, Orbán suggested Hungary would get the oil flows back and vowed to end he described as a "blockade" by force if necessary. Zelensky snapped back saying he could send Ukrainian soldiers to his address and "let them speak to him in their own language".
Hungary is preparing for parliamentary elections in April.