On 6/3, Hungary's National Tax and Customs Administration announced the arrest of 7 Ukrainian citizens and the detention of two armored vehicles carrying a large amount of cash. The vehicles were traversing Hungarian territory, and criminal proceedings for money laundering have been initiated against the individuals involved.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha vehemently accused Hungary of "taking Ukrainian citizens hostage and illegally seizing tens of millions of USD". Sybiha clarified that the 7 arrested individuals are employees of the state-owned Oschadbank. They were transporting money in armored vehicles from Austria to Ukraine, a routine operational activity between state banks, according to the minister.

Money and gold on the two temporarily detained armored vehicles. *Photo: AFP*

Oschadbank detailed the assets on the two armored vehicles, which included 40 million USD, 35 million EUR, and nearly 9 kg of gold, valued at approximately 1,5 million USD at current prices. This brings the total value of the seized assets to around 80 million USD, as Kyiv claims.

The Hungarian Government Information Center later stated that the 7 Ukrainian citizens would be deported the same day. The center noted that among those detained were a former general from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), a former air force major, and several other individuals with military experience.

However, the Hungarian agency did not provide an explanation for their release for deportation, nor has it announced the intended handling of the money on the two vehicles. Oschadbank confirmed that Budapest has not yet returned the assets.

This incident involving the money-carrying vehicles further escalates existing tensions between Hungary and Ukraine. The two nations are currently embroiled in a dispute over oil transportation via the Druzhba pipeline, which connects Russia to Hungary through Ukrainian territory. Operations on the pipeline have been interrupted since 27/1.

Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank in Kyiv, 6/3. *Photo: AFP*

Ukraine attributes the pipeline damage to Russian unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks, making repairs risky. Conversely, Hungary has accused Ukraine of deliberately delaying the resumption of oil supply, declaring its intent to implement strong retaliatory measures.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, known for his close ties with the Kremlin, implicitly connected the money vehicle detention to the pipeline dispute in a statement on 6/3. He asserted, "We will block things important to Ukraine going through Hungary until they agree to resume oil transport. Ukrainians will run out of money before we run out of oil."

Duc Trung (According to AP, AFP, Reuters)