Orban ordered the seizure of confiscated Ukrainian gold and millions in cash
Kyiv • UNN
Hungary seized 75 million euros and 9 kg of gold from Oschadbank. Ukraine accuses the Orban government of illegal seizure of assets.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has ordered the detention of a consignment of Ukrainian cash and gold, confiscated last week by Hungarian authorities, for up to 60 days while the country's tax service conducts an investigation, UNN reports, citing AP.
The gold and money were being transported through Hungary by road when they were confiscated on Thursday. Authorities said they suspected "money laundering."
The consignment included $40 million and 35 million euros in cash, as well as 9 kilograms of gold worth, based on current exchange rates, about $82 million.
The confiscation sparked outrage from Ukrainian authorities, who accused Hungary's pro-Russian government of illegal actions.
Video footage of the confiscation, published by the Hungarian Counter-Terrorism Center, showed masked special forces detaining seven employees of the Ukrainian state bank "Oschadbank" who were traveling in two armored vehicles from Austria to Ukraine.
Kyiv stated that this was a routine operation to transfer assets between state banks.
The bank employees were detained for more than 24 hours and then expelled from Hungary late Friday evening. There was no information about the reasons for their release by the Hungarian authorities or whether they were suspected of any crimes.
Orbán's decree, signed late Monday evening, instructs the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration to establish the origin, destination, and intended use of the cargo, as well as the identities of the seven expelled Ukrainians "and their possible connections to criminal or terrorist organizations."
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha stated on social media late Monday evening that Hungary was "descending into a spiral of lawlessness" and accused the Orbán government of attempting to "legalize" the illegal seizure.
"This is a de facto admission that Hungary's actions have no legal basis," Sybiha wrote. "They are simply adding lawlessness to lawlessness."
The Hungarian tax service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Approaching elections
Hungary has declared a "state of danger" due to the war in neighboring Ukraine, which allows the Orbán government to rule by decree without parliamentary vote on certain issues, the publication notes.
In the decree, Orbán, who faces an unprecedented challenge from a center-right opponent in elections just a month away, also requires the Hungarian tax service to determine whether the Ukrainian cash deliveries benefited "Hungarian criminal organizations, terrorist organizations present in Hungary, or political organizations."
Ahead of the April 12 elections, the right-wing populist leader and a wide network of loyal media outlets have regularly claimed, without providing any evidence, that his main political opponent, Péter Magyar, and his Tisza party receive funding from Ukraine, the publication notes.
The mention of "political organizations" in the decree raised suspicions that Magyar and Tisza could be involved in the investigation into the cash deliveries, the publication writes.
Orbán, who lags behind Tisza in most polls, has intensified an aggressive anti-Ukrainian campaign in recent weeks ahead of the elections. He called Ukraine an "enemy" of Hungary and stated that if he loses the elections, Hungary will be forced into bankruptcy, and Hungarian youth will be sent to their deaths on the front lines.
In a further escalation of tensions with Ukraine, the Hungarian parliament on Tuesday adopted a resolution giving the government a green light to oppose Ukraine's path to joining the European Union and to reject any initiatives to supply Ukraine with weapons or funding.
Hungarian Parliament adopts resolution against Ukraine's EU accession10.03.26, 15:32 • 1786 views