FM Sybiha urges partners to respond to Hungary’s detention of Oschadbank cash collectors

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has called on Hungary to immediately return the seized property and valuables of Oschadbank and urged Kyiv’s partners to publicly respond to the incident.

According to Ukrinform, Sybiha said this in a post on X.

“Today is the third day since Hungarian authorities robbed two Ukrainian armored banking vehicles, which were transiting from Austria, and stole money and precious metals in broad daylight,” Sybiha wrote.

The minister stressed that the funds do not belong to Hungary or its government but to the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, and thus to Ukrainian taxpayers.

“We demand their immediate return and urge Europe-wide condemnation of this unprecedented act of state banditism and racketeering. I encourage all of our European partners to speak out,” Sybiha wrote.

Earlier, Sybiha reported that in Budapest Hungarian authorities detained seven Ukrainian citizens – employees of Oschadbank – and seized the cash they were transporting. The collectors were traveling transit between Austria and Ukraine as part of routine service between state banks.

Hungary’s tax authority later confirmed the detention of the seven collectors and two vehicles carrying cash, stating that a criminal investigation had been launched on suspicion of money laundering.

Later, Hungarian government spokesperson Zoltan Kovacs announced that the seven Ukrainian collectors would be expelled from Hungary.

Sybiha stated that Hungary had no legal grounds to detain the Oschadbank employees or their convoy and that such actions violated international law.

Later the same day, he announced that Ukraine had secured the release of the seven Ukrainians held in Budapest, and they had already crossed the Ukrainian border.