Hungary Seizes $82 Million in Ukrainian Cash and Gold Assets Passing Through Budapest

Hungarian authorities temporarily detained seven Ukrainian bank staff and seized $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kilograms of gold when two armored cars carrying the assets entered its territory from Austria on Friday.

The Details: The detained Ukrainians were employees of Ukraine's state-owned Oschadbank and were traveling from Austria to Ukraine as part of regular operations, according to Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Hungarian counterterror forces stormed the vehicles and apprehended the Ukrainians along the highway outside Budapest. The Hungarian government claimed those detained had ties to Ukrainian intelligence and released them later the same day, according to Sybiha. As of Sunday, Hungary reportedly still holds the seized assets.

For Context: Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it has opened criminal proceedings with Europol, Hungary's tax and customs administration, and Hungarian police. Hungarian Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Péter Szijjártó claimed that so far this year, Ukrainians have transported $900 million and €420 million in cash and 146 kilograms of gold through Hungary.

HU-UA Relations: Ukraine-Hungary relations have been particularly fraught since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and have deteriorated in recent months. The Druzhba pipeline, which supplies Hungary and Slovakia with almost all of their oil in the form of Russian crude, has been offline since late January, when, according to Kyiv, a Russian missile damaged it. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the pipeline could be repaired in a month and a half, but he prefers not to do so. On Friday, the EU condemned Zelenskyy for implying he gave Ukrainian soldiers Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's address so they could deliver a talk "in [his] own language." Previously, Orbán has said Hungary will block the adoption of a €90 billion aid package from the EU to Ukraine until the pipeline is repaired. On February 25, Orbán announced the deployment of the Hungarian military to "critical energy infrastructure" to protect it from potential "attacks."

How The Media Covered It: The story was widely covered by Western media outlets. Hungarian Conservative (Lean Right) noted many of the Hungarian government's claims near the top of its coverage and framed the story as a successful law enforcement operation. The Kyiv Independent (Center) mentioned statements from the Ukrainian government at the top of its coverage and framed the story as an unjust violation of rights. Hungarian opposition outlet Telex took a similar approach to The Kyiv Independent and amplified claims from Ukraine in its first coverage. A few hours later, it published coverage focusing on statements from the Hungarian government.

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