The Chairman of the National Bank of Ukraine, Andriy Pyshny, stated that the transportation of currency values by Ukrainian banks is carried out in accordance with international norms and there are no violations. This is how he commented on the transportation of funds by Oschadbank collectors, who were arrested by Hungary on March 6.
Andriy Pyshnyy announced this during a briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for ambassadors of the European Union, the United States, and other partners of Ukraine.
Andriy Pyshny reported that the National Bank's inspection confirmed the proper registration of the cargo traveling from Austria to Ukraine: the accompanying documents comply with the Customs Code, the contracts have no comments, and Oschadbank has a valid license for international transportation.
“Transporting cash exclusively by land transport has been standard practice since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Prior to this, transportation was carried out by air transport,” Andriy Pyshny emphasized and reported that similar transportation of cash currency to Ukraine is carried out every week.
According to the head of the NBU, the Hungarian side did not provide official documents confirming the violations. The employees of the collection teams were being prepared for deportation, which indicates the absence of criminal cases against them. “There are no legal grounds for the detention of Ukrainian citizens,” Pyshny emphasized.
He also reported that representatives of the Hungarian authorities are manipulatively appealing to the military combat experience of Oschadbank employees. Pyshny stressed that the number of people with military experience in Ukraine has increased over the 12 years of the war with Russia, and after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, having previous military experience has become the norm in Ukrainian society.
The National Bank, together with the diplomatic service and international partners, is working to resolve the incident, emphasizing its inadmissibility. Pyshny said that Ukraine will also work to return the cargo transported by Oschadbank collectors.
Earlier, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga reported that seven Ukrainian citizens who were being held in Budapest were released and crossed the Ukrainian border.