Hungary has closed case against Ukrainian cash collectors: lawful origin of $40 million, 35 million euros, and gold has been confirmed
In Hungary, criminal proceedings have been dropped against Ukrainian cash-in-transit operatives who were detained in March whilst transporting tens of millions of dollars, euros and gold. The investigation established that the funds and precious metal were of lawful origin and that there were no signs of money laundering.
According to Censor.NET, Oschadbank’s lawyer, Lorant Horvat, announced the closure of the case.
"As there were no grounds for criminal proceedings, the National Tax Administration (NAV) has closed the investigation into the 'golden convoy' case! No money laundering took place!" – stated the lawyer.
The investigation confirmed the origin of the money and gold
According to the Hungarian publication HVG, in its decision to close the case, the NAV stated that the origin of the cash and precious metals seized during the search had been established.
It transpired that they were part of an interbank transaction between the Austrian Raiffeisen Bank International AG and the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank.
Raiffeisen has provided documentary evidence confirming the origin of the banknotes and precious metals, as well as the fact that Oschadbank has paid for them.
The evidence gathered during the investigation also showed that the seized property had not been obtained by criminal means. The investigators also found no evidence of any other offences.
What is known about the arrest of the Ukrainian cash-in-transit guards
In March, Hungarian law enforcement officers detained two armoured cash-in-transit vehicles on suspicion of money laundering.
They were transporting 40 million dollars, 35 million euros and 9 kg of gold. The consignment was accompanied by official waybills.
The customer for the shipment was the state-owned Oschadbank of Ukraine, and the consignor was Raiffeisen Bank in Vienna.
Hungarian investigators have now officially closed the case due to the absence of a criminal offence.
