Hungary says it detained Ukrainians with armored cars in 'money laundering' case
Kyiv • UNN
The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration detained seven Ukrainian citizens with two armored vehicles containing $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kg of gold. They are suspected in a 'money laundering' case.
The National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary (NAV) announced that it had detained seven Ukrainian citizens with two armored cash-in-transit vehicles in Hungary in a case "on suspicion of money laundering," UNN reports with reference to 24.hu.
NAV opened a case on suspicion of money laundering after seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former secret service general, and two armored vehicles carrying large sums of cash and gold were detained in Hungary.
Details
The National Tax and Customs Administration indicated that it "is conducting a criminal investigation on suspicion of money laundering."
"On March 5, 2026, it detained seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former general of the Ukrainian secret service, and two armored cash-in-transit vehicles, which allegedly transported a total of 40 million dollars, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine," it was announced on Friday.
According to the Hungarian agency, "hundreds of millions of dollars and euros in cash, as well as a significant amount of gold bars, have already passed through the country to Ukraine this year."
The statement added that "NAV is conducting an investigation in accordance with the criminal procedure code with the assistance of the Counter Terrorism Center." "The National Tax and Customs Administration immediately informed the Ukrainian consular service about the start of the procedure, but no response has been received from the consular service so far," the statement said.
According to Telex, the Counter Terrorism Center raided the cash-in-transit vehicles at a gas station on the M5 highway on Thursday afternoon. People dressed in black were reportedly pulled out of the cars and laid on the ground. There were several witnesses to the raid. The Counter Terrorism Center convoy then reportedly headed towards Budapest.