The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets reacted to the detention of seven Oschadbank employees in Hungary, and stated that he urgently contacted his Hungarian colleague Imre Yuchaz with a demand for clarification.
The Ukrainian Ombudsman reported this on Telegram on March 6.
“In his letter, he asked to immediately provide answers to key questions: “On what basis were the citizens of Ukraine detained?”; “Where exactly are they and in what conditions are they being held?”,” Lubinets said.
The official added that he also took the initiative in a letter to the Hungarian Ombudsman to hold an urgent online meeting to clarify all the circumstances of the situation and ensure respect for the rights of Ukrainian citizens.
Earlier, Foreign Minister Andriy Szybiga said that the Hungarian side did not allow Ukrainian consuls to see the detained employees of the state bank. The Foreign Ministry also recommended that Ukrainians refrain from traveling to Hungary “due to the impossibility of guaranteeing their safety.”
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 are currently 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 Raiffeisen Bank. 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 currently 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.
National Bank Head Andriy Pyshnyy said that his deputy Oleksiy Shaban, together with the bank's team, are urgently going on a business trip to Budapest to clarify the circumstances and the general situation regarding the seizure of Oschadbank's collectors.