President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that on May 6, Hungary returned to Ukraine the money and valuables of Oschadbank, which were seized by Hungarian special services in March of this year during the detention of Ukrainian collectors.
He wrote about this in Telegram.
He called it “an important step in relations with Hungary,” adding that the detention of the Oschadbank collectors was illegal.
“We returned the people faster, and now the funds and valuables are on Ukrainian territory in full. I am grateful to Hungary for the constructive and civilized step. I thank everyone in the Ukrainian team who fought for a fair decision and protected the interests of our state and our people,” Zelensky added.
Let us recall that we are talking about money and valuables in the amount of 40 million US dollars, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms of bank gold.
Updated at 17:00
Oschadbank confirmed that the funds were returned in full, noting that bank representatives had already checked their integrity and proper packaging. In addition, the institution added that the process of transferring the money was carried out in accordance with good European practice of international cooperation.
“The illegal detention of a team of collectors and the seizure by Hungary of funds and valuables of the Ukrainian state bank for 2 months was a violation of many international norms and rules of interstate cooperation. We thank Hungary for its constructive approach,” said Yuriy Katsion, Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank.
Updated at 17:45
Minister of Foreign Affairs Andriy Sybiga stated that Ukraine perceives the return of funds to Oschadbank as a positive step and evidence of Hungary's readiness to normalize bilateral relations.
“We thank the Hungarian side for this step. The return of the stolen property draws a clear line between the lawlessness of the Orbán regime and the constructive approach of the new government. We perceive this as a sign of Hungary's readiness to develop our relations with mutual respect and healthy pragmatism – and we are ready to reciprocate,” Szibiga wrote.
He added that in this regard he looks forward to future contacts with Foreign Minister Anita Orbán.
What is known about the detention of Oschadbank employees in Hungary?
On the night of March 6, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga announced that Hungarian authorities had seized seven Oschadbank employees who were traveling with money on a collection flight from Austria.
Oschadbank confirmed that its employees have disappeared in Hungary, and its collection vehicles and valuables have been seized. According to GPS data, the financial institution's vehicles were parked in the center of Budapest, near a building of one of the Hungarian law enforcement agencies.
The state bank also noted that their employees were transporting money and valuables in fulfillment of an international agreement with the Austrian Raiffeisenbank. The cargo was registered in accordance with international transportation rules and current European customs procedures. The amount of valuables in the detained cars amounted to 40 million US dollars, 35 million euros and 9 kilograms of gold.
Informed sources told Suspilny that the seized collection vehicles are in the closed territory of the local Anti-Terrorism Center.
The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration later confirmed the detention of seven Ukrainians on suspicion of “money laundering.” They also claim that the Hungarian side immediately informed the Ukrainian consulate about the start of the investigation.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the detention of seven Oschadbank collectors by Hungarian law enforcement officers “arbitrary” and recommended that Ukrainians refrain from traveling to Hungary “due to the impossibility of guaranteeing their safety.”
The Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshny, stated that the department's team is urgently going on a business trip to the Hungarian capital, Budapest, to clarify the situation regarding the seizure of Oschadbank's collection teams.
He also stated that the transportation of currency values by Ukrainian banks is carried out in accordance with international standards and has no violations.
On the evening of March 6, seven detained collectors returned to Ukraine. Despite claims of “money laundering,” Hungary did not detain the Ukrainians who were transporting the funds. The valuables remain on Hungarian territory.
On March 10, the Hungarian government adopted a special resolution, according to which the National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary will retain the seized funds transported by Ukrainian collectors until the investigation is completed.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga reacted to the adoption of the relevant bill, stating that Hungary is “dive into a spiral of lawlessness.”
NBU Chairman Andriy Pyshny said that the detained Ukrainian collectors of Oschadbank in Hungary were harshly interrogated, one of them was hospitalized. Later, Oschadbank Chairman Yuriy Katsion reported that one employee, Gennady Kuznetsov, was forcibly injected, after which he was sent for interrogation.
On March 12, Oschadbank reported that the bank's collection vehicles detained in Hungary had been returned to Ukraine. They were detained on March 6. After the collection vehicles were returned, a number of equipment damages were recorded.
On March 17, the legal representative of the financial institution filed a complaint with the Central Investigative Prosecutor's Office of Hungary on suspicion of abuse of office and committing a terrorist act in connection with the seizure of collection vehicles and the seizure of cash and gold on March 5.
On March 24, it became known that after Hungarian special services detained Ukrainian collectors, Oschadbank suspended the import of currency into Ukraine and is looking for alternative methods of transporting it.
On April 8, the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) released purported new evidence in the case of the illegal detention of Ukrainian tax collectors. On the same day, Oschadbank said that the Hungarian NAV had falsified the video.