Hungary detained Oschadbank cash collection vehicles carrying $40 million, €35 million, and gold: Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry responds
Oschadbank announced that its cash collection vehicles and employees had been detained in Hungary while transporting currency valuables to Ukraine.
According to Censor.NET, this was stated in a statement by the state bank. According to the institution, on March 5, two collection vehicles were stopped in Hungary while transporting foreign currency and bank metals from Austria to Ukraine.
Cash collection vehicles carrying money were detained in Budapest
Seven cash collection employees were in the vehicle. Their whereabouts are currently unknown.
According to GPS data, the vehicles are located in the center of Budapest near one of Hungary's law enforcement agencies.
The transport was carried out under an international agreement between Oschadbank and Austria's Raiffeisen Bank. The bank emphasized that the cargo was processed in accordance with international rules and European customs procedures.
The detained vehicles were transporting:
- 40 million US dollars
- 35 million euros
- 9 kilograms of gold
Oschadbank stated that it demands the immediate release of its employees and the return of property to Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called Hungary's actions a hostage-taking
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that Ukraine had already sent an official note to the Hungarian authorities.
According to him, seven Ukrainian citizens who were performing official transportation between state banks were detained in Budapest.
"Today in Budapest, the Hungarian authorities took seven Ukrainian citizens hostage. The reasons for this, as well as their state of health and the possibility of communicating with them, are still unknown," Sybiha said.
He added that Ukraine will demand the immediate release of its citizens and the return of their valuables. The Ukrainian side also plans to ask the European Union to assess the actions of the Hungarian authorities.
- Recall that the Hungarian prime minister is blocking a €90 billion loan to Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of deliberately blocking oil transit from Russia through the "Druzhba" pipeline, which was damaged as a result of Russian attacks.
- The day before, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, hinting at Orbán, said that if the EU's €90 billion loan to Ukraine continues to be blocked, "the address of this person" will be provided to the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
