Hungary returns Oschadbank armored vehicles, but cash and gold still held
Armored cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to Oschadbank that had been detained in Hungary were returned to Ukrainian diplomats and bank representatives on Thursday, but the money and gold they were carrying remain in Hungarian custody.
According to a statement by Oschadbank on Facebook, cited by Ukrinform, the vehicles – along with some personal belongings of the seven members of the cash-collection team – were handed back by the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NAV).
The return of the property was facilitated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, and the Embassy of Ukraine in Hungary.
After receiving the vehicles, Oschadbank representatives discovered multiple damages to the equipment. The bank’s legal team documented all defects on site.
The full scale of the damage will be assessed after the vehicles are transported back to Ukraine.
However, the funds and valuables – $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kilograms of bank gold – remain unlawfully detained in Hungary, the bank said. Oschadbank stated it will continue defending its rights under its previously announced legal strategy.
“The bank insists that the transportation was conducted legally in accordance with international law and that it has legitimate rights to the seized funds and valuables,” the statement said.
According to Oschadbank:
- the transport of money and valuables through Hungary was carried out under an international agreement between Oschadbank and Raiffeisen Bank International in Austria;
- the cargo was processed in line with international transportation rules and EU customs procedures;
- Oschadbank holds a valid license for international transport issued by the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety;
- during the full-scale war, banks transport valuables only by land, with such shipments occurring on average weekly;
- the collection team consisted of seven long-serving bank employees with 3 to 21 years of experience; a senior official from the bank’s collection department traditionally accompanies international shipments; this time the team was led by the department’s deputy director;
- the cash was being transported from Vienna to Ukraine and belonged to Ukrainian citizens and businesses, intended to support the country’s cash circulation;
- all money and valuables were packaged in compliance with regulatory and transport requirements.
Earlier, Andrii Sybiha, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said Hungarian authorities had detained seven Oschadbank collectors and seized the funds during a routine interbank transfer.
Hungary’s tax authority confirmed the detention of the collectors and two vehicles carrying cash and said it had opened a criminal investigation on suspicion of money laundering.
The collectors were later released and returned to Ukraine.
Oschadbank said it would take legal steps to recover the property and valuables that were seized on March 6.
The Hungarian government has also adopted a special resolution regarding the cash and valuables confiscated from the Ukrainian bank’s armored vehicles.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called Hungary’s actions in the incident “banditry.”
Photo: Facebook / Oschadbank