Hungarian law enforcement intercepted two Ukrainian armored vehicles as they were traveling through Hungary from Austria toward Ukraine.
The convoy was staffed by seven Ukrainian citizens who are all employees of the state-owned Oschadbank. It was carrying a massive amount of assets. These included 4 million U.S. dollars, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms of gold bars.
Hungarian officials claimed that one of those detained was a former Ukrainian intelligence service general, and they suggested the individuals had intelligence links.
Note that the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary opened an investigation into suspected money laundering. Balázs Orbán, the political director for Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, publicly questioned the legitimacy of the shipment.
He argued that transporting such vast sums of cash and gold by land is not how legitimate financial transactions usually work and demanded additional details.
Oschadbank and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha insisted the transport was a routine trip conducted by land due to wartime flight restrictions. They maintained that the shipment complied with all customers and transit regulations of the European Union.
He added that the shipment was organized under an agreement with Raiffeisen Bank International in Austria, and accused Hungary of money theft and hostage-taking.
The incident followed a dispute over the Druzhba oil pipeline. Hungary and Slovakia accused Ukraine of deliberately stalling repairs after a drone attack. This led to Viktor Orbán vetoing a 90 billion EU loan for Ukraine and further sanctions on Russia.
Ukraine has accused Viktor Orbán of manufacturing the scandal for political gain ahead of a tight election in Hungary scheduled for April 2026.