Ukraine Plans Legal Action Against Hungary Over Seized Oschadbank Cash

Ukraine is preparing legal action against Hungary over funds seized from armored cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to the state-owned Oschadbank, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said, as a dispute between Kyiv and Budapest escalates.

“In Ukraine we say: На злодієві шапка горить . Meaning “A guilty conscience needs no accuser”. This is exactly the case,” he wrote on X on March 8.

According to Tykhyi, Ukraine expects the return of the seized money and is preparing formal legal steps to hold those responsible accountable.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said Budapest is still waiting for explanations from Kyiv regarding the transfer of large sums of cash through Hungarian territory.

“We are still waiting for an answer: why were $900 million and €420 million in cash moved through Hungary? What was it used for and in whose interests? How much of it was spent in Hungary and for whose benefit?” he wrote on X.

The confrontation began on March 5, when Hungarian law enforcement intercepted an Oschadbank armored convoy transiting through Hungary. The shipment, which included two armored vehicles, $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kg of gold, was part of a routine transfer of valuables between Raiffeisen Bank International in Austria and Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank.

According to Ukrainian officials, the seven bank employees accompanying the cargo were initially detained and held without access to consuls for over 24 hours.

On March 6, Ukraine secured the release of seven employees of the state-owned Oschadbank who had been detained in Budapest together with the cash shipment and valuables, according to Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha.

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Sybiha stated that he had informed President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about the situation following their release. All seven employees are safe and have already returned to Ukraine after crossing the border.

Earlier, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised Ukrainian citizens to refrain from traveling to Hungary following what it called the abduction of seven Ukrainian nationals and the confiscation of assets belonging to a Ukrainian state-owned bank in Budapest.

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