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Hungary is set to expel seven Ukrainians and has launched a money-laundering investigation after authorities intercepted a convoy of cash-carrying vehicles belonging to a Ukrainian state bank.
Hungarian customs and police stopped the convoy overnight in a motorway service area. The trucks and their crews belong to Ukraine’s Oschadbank, and were transporting currency and gold from Austria to Ukraine.
According to the bank, the vehicles were carrying $40 million, €35 million and nine kilograms of gold. The Hungarian government released a video depicting the raid, which was carried out by the Anti-Terrorist Police.
The incident marks a sharp escalation in already strained bilateral relations, coming just one day after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded accusations and raised the possibility of using force against each other.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha accused Hungary of abduction and theft. “In Budapest, Hungarian authorities took seven Ukrainian citizens hostage,” he wrote on X. “In fact, we are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money.”
The Ukrainian government insisted the transfer was lawful and compliant with international regulations, and Ukrainian officials said they were unable to contact their detained citizens. The Hungarian government, for its part, published photographs of the confiscated cash and gold.
Ukraine’s ambassador to Hungary, Sándor Fegyir, was seen outside a law enforcement centre in central Budapest but was denied entry.
Hungary opens money-laundering probe
The Hungarian Tax and Customs Administration has opened a money-laundering case against the seven Ukrainian nationals arrested.
According to Budapest, the transfer was supervised by a former general of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence Service, and other crew members also had military backgrounds.
The Hungarian government further stated that Ukraine had previously moved $900 million, €420 million and 146 kilograms of gold through Hungary.
“If this is genuinely a transaction between banks, the question arises as to why the banks cannot settle this by transfer between themselves – and why such a large amount of cash needs to travel at all, let alone through Hungary,” Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry issued a travel warning for its citizens, stating that their safety could not be guaranteed in Hungary. The European Commission said it was aware of the reports, but declined to comment further.
Orbán and Zelenskyy near breaking point
Budapest and Kyiv are locked in a bitter dispute over the shutdown of the Druzhba pipeline, which carries discounted Russian oil to Hungary via Ukraine.
The pipeline was struck in a suspected Russian attack in late January and has not been repaired since. Hungary has accused Ukraine of exploiting the disruption for political leverage.
On Thursday, Orbán vowed to restore oil flows and pledged to end what he called a Ukrainian “blockade” by force if necessary. Zelenskyy hit back, saying he could send Ukrainian soldiers to Orbán’s address and “let them speak to him in their own language.”
On Friday afternoon, NGOs with ties to the Hungarian government organised a demonstration outside the Ukrainian embassy in Budapest, protesting what they described as Ukrainian interference in Hungary’s electoral campaign.
People were seen holding banners portraying opposition leader Péter Magyar as a puppet of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Orbán’s Fidesz party has alleged that Ukraine is financing Magyar’s Tisza Party in order to unseat the government and remove the vetoes it has exercised within the European Union. No evidence has been presented to support those claims.
Hungary is due to hold parliamentary elections in April. Most polls show Tisza in the lead.
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