Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, right, has accused Hungary of kidnapping seven Ukrainian bank employees. File Photo by NATO/UPI | License Photo
Ukraine’s foreign minister accused Hungary of kidnapping seven Ukrainian state bank employees and stealing the cash and gold they were transporting, and Hungary announced it would expel the bank staff.
Ukraine’s Oschadbank said on Thursday that two vehicles with seven employees and about $75 million were stopped in Budapest Thursday, and Kyiv has lost contact with the personnel. The vehicles were transporting cash and gold from Austria to Ukraine.
Budapest announced Friday that the seven bank employees would be expelled from Hungary, and accused the seven people detained of money laundering.
On Wednesday, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded threats and accusations. Budapest blamed Kyiv for blocking a Russian oil pipeline into Hungary, but Kyiv said the pipeline was damaged by a Russian air strike in January, the BBC reported.
One month before the Hungarian elections, Orban is trailing in polling.
“Today in Budapest, Hungarian authorities took seven Ukrainian citizens hostage,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Thursday on X. “The reasons are still unknown, as well as their current well-being, or the possibility of contacting them. … We will also address the European Union with the request to provide a clear qualification of Hungary’s unlawful actions, hostage-taking, and robbery.”
In a Friday morning post, Sybiha called it “state banditism.”
“Political statements from Hungarian officials this morning show that the detention of seven Ukrainian citizens in Budapest was part of Hungary’s blackmail and electoral campaign,” the post on X said. “Orban’s list of demands for Ukraine this morning was particularly telling. This is what typically happens after people are taken hostage: demands. We will not tolerate this state banditism.”
Oschadbank released a statement calling for the release of its employees.
It said the employees “were unjustifiably detained in Hungary while carrying out a regular transport of foreign currency and bank metals between Raiffeisen Bank Austria and Oschadbank Ukraine. … Oschadbank demands the immediate release of its employees and property and their return to Ukraine.”
The bank said the vehicles carried $40 million in U.S. dollars, about $40.5 million in euros and about 20 pounds of gold. The transfer was part of an agreement with Raiffeisen Bank.
“The cargo was registered in accordance with international transportation rules and current European customs procedures,” Oschadbank said in the statement.
It’s not clear what has happened to the cash and gold, but the BBC reported that Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said, “they’ve stolen the money.”
Hungary alleges that the transport was part of a money laundering operation. The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration said that seven Ukrainian nationals were arrested, including a former Ukrainian intelligence general, with two armoured cash trucks also seized.
“This year alone, more than $900 million, $486 million (in euros), and 322 pounds of gold bars have been transported through the territory of Hungary to Ukraine,” the statement said.
Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó also posted on X: “The government demands immediate answers and explanations from Ukraine on the cash shipments through Hungary. The question arises whether this is the money from the Ukrainian war mafia,” Szijjártó said.
Ukraine has issued a travel warning for its people to avoid traveling through Hungary.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends that Ukrainian citizens refrain from traveling to Hungary due to the lack of guarantees of their safety against the backdrop of arbitrary actions by the Hungarian authorities,” a statement said.
Historic March moments through the years
Founder of the Women’s Tennis Association and tennis great Billie Jean King (C) smiles with representatives after speaking during an annual Women’s History Month event in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX in Statuary Hall at the U.S .Capitol in Washington on March 9, 2022. Women’s History Month is celebrated every March. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
