Hungary Returns ‘Damaged’ Armored Trucks After Seizing Ukrainian Bank Convoy
Oschadbank said Thursday it had taken receipt of two vehicles and the belongings of the seven Ukrainian nationals detained near Budapest last week. The bank’s assets remain in Hungary.
Kyiv Post
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Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration has returned two armored vehicles and the belongings of seven Ukrainian nationals to Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank, the bank confirmed on Thursday.
Hungarian authorities intercepted an Oschadbank convoy carrying roughly $82 million in gold and cash near Budapest and detained the seven bank employees accompanying it on March 5. Although the bank’s employees were returned a day later, Hungarian authorities have not returned the bank’s assets.
In a press release, Oschadbank said that the vehicles had sustained “a number of” instances of damage while in Hungarian custody, although it did not cite specific details. The bank added that it would assess the damage to the vehicles, which has been “documented on-site by the bank’s legal representatives.”
On Wednesday, the European Commission confirmed receipt of a letter from Andriy Pyshny, the governor of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU), calling on EU institutions to examine what the NBU has described as unlawful actions by Hungarian authorities affecting Ukrainian financial operations.
Treatment of detainees
Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has accused Budapest of violating the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the European Convention on Human Rights over their treatment of the detained bank staff. The seven employees were reportedly held in handcuffs for 28 hours and denied access to lawyers or consular advice.
Hungarian authorities have begun the return of two armored vehicles seized from Ukraine’s Oschadbank, while the cash and gold shipment remains confiscated by government decree.
The MFA further alleges that “detainees were subjected to psychological and physical pressure,” and that one employee with a disability and diabetes did not receive medical attention until he lost consciousness.
As per the MFA, he was then administered improper medication that caused a spike in blood sugar and hypertension, leading to his hospitalization.
Oschadbank’s legal representative, Dr. Lóránt Horváth, previously told Kyiv Post that the detainees were never formally accused of a crime and were questioned only as witnesses in a money-laundering investigation.
The staff were reportedly denied the right to provide testimony in their native Ukrainian, with officials communicating only in Russian. Both requests for a consul and access to their designated legal counsel were ignored.
Their personal belongings, including their phones, were seized – preventing them from contacting the Ukrainian embassy or their families.
The convoy was transporting $40 million, €35 million ($38 million), and 9 kilograms (20 pounds) of gold from the headquarters of Raiffeisen Bank International AG in Vienna to the headquarters of the State Savings Bank of Ukraine (AT Oschadbank) in Kyiv when it was intercepted.
Horváth said that “the money was seized by [Hungarian] government decree.” The gold, too, remains in Hungary.
Oschadbank taking “legal steps”
Oschadbank emphasized that the convoy was legal and traveling in accordance with international transportation rules and European customs procedures. The bank holds a valid international transport license issued by Ukraine’s State Service for Transport Safety, according to the press release.
The bank said it would continue pursuing legal measures to defend the rights of its employees and secure the return of the confiscated assets.
“Several legal steps have already been taken as part of that process,” the bank wrote, without giving further detail.
The bank added that such transfers have become routine since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which has ruled out the transfer of assets by any route but over land. These transports take place on average once a week, and the convoy in question was led by a deputy director of the bank’s cash collection department.
Olena Hrazhdan is the Business Reporter at Kyiv Post, covering Ukraine’s markets, business, and economic policy. While she reports broadly on economic issues, her core focus is banking, finance, monetary and fiscal policy. Olena previously wrote for leading Ukrainian business media and became a Fellow of the International Monetary Fund’s Journalism Fellowship in 2024.
