Hungarian authorities have agreed to return two armored cash collection vehicles belonging to Ukraine's state-owned Oschadbank, but the cash and gold the vehicles were carrying will remain in Hungary, two sources familiar with the case told European Pravda.
Investigators from Hungary's National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), which the government tasked with conducting a formal inquiry, notified Ukrainian lawyers that the vehicles would be transferred on Thursday morning, according to the sources. The condition of the vehicles — including damage potentially sustained during the forced opening of the secure compartments in which the funds were stored — was not known.
The fate of the assets reflects legislation that Hungary passed on an emergency basis this week to create a legal framework for the confiscation of the money, as well as a separate government decision. Neither document mentioned the vehicles.
The backdrop to the seizure is openly political. Hungary's Construction and Transport Minister János Lázár confirmed last week that the operation was a deliberate state act, linked directly to Ukraine's suspension of Russian oil transit through the Druzhba pipeline.
"We did what we did not by accident, and we will not return the money to them," Lázár said, according to European Pravda, citing the Hungarian outlet Telex.
The minister was explicit about the conditions for any resolution. "The money stays here for now, we are waiting for the pipeline to open, and we are waiting for new money transfers from Ukraine through Hungary," he said — while also refusing to rule out further operations. "The longer the restoration of the pipeline takes, the more thorough investigations of this matter will be needed," Lázár warned.
He also questioned the legality of transporting foreign currency into Ukraine — framing the action partly as a law enforcement matter while simultaneously acknowledging its political logic. "We know the Ukrainians are very nervous. If we are being blackmailed, we cannot be foolish enough to give in," the minister said.
How the incident unfolded
The incident began in the early hours of 6 March, when NAV stopped seven Oschadbank employees on an armored courier run from Austria to Ukraine. Hungary confirmed their detention on suspicion of money laundering, stating that the Ukrainian consulate was promptly notified.
Oschadbank said the couriers were operating under an international agreement with Austria's Raiffeisen Bank and that the cargo — $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kilograms of gold — was handled in full compliance with international transport rules and European customs procedures. GPS tracking placed the vehicles in central Budapest, near premises associated with one of Hungary's security agencies; informed sources told Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne that the vehicles were held on the grounds of the local Anti-Terrorist Center.
Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács wrote on X that NAV had identified all seven detainees and established that the operation was led by a former general of Ukraine's Security Service. "Based on these findings, all seven individuals will be expelled from Hungary," Kovács wrote.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry characterized the detention as "arbitrary" and recommended that Ukrainian citizens avoid traveling to Hungary, citing an inability to guarantee their safety. According to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, Kyiv intends to hold all those responsible accountable — both for the seizure and for what he described as treatment of the detained couriers that went beyond the bounds of the law. National Bank of Ukraine Governor Andriy Pyshnyi announced that his team was traveling urgently to Budapest to assess the situation.
The seven detained Oschadbank employees were returned to Ukraine on the evening of March 6. The money and gold were not.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy characterized Hungary's conduct as "banditry." The NBU stated that Hungary had initiated "international blackmail" against Ukraine.
