Hungary Confessed To The Capture Of Collectors Of The Ukrainian "Oschadbank" And Named The "reason"
- 6.03.2026, 14:10
Kiev demands their immediate release.
Hungary has still not allowed Ukrainian consuls to visit seven Oshchadbank collectors detained in Budapest and has given the reason for their detention.
This announced by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sibiga.
"Ukrainian consuls have still not been allowed access to the seven Ukrainian citizens taken hostage in Budapest. The Hungarian side has not provided any explanations," the Ukrainian foreign minister said.
He emphasized that Ukraine demands their immediate release and is preparing further actions, including at the level of the European Union.
Hungary has named the reason for the seizure
According to Hungary's National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), on March 5, 2026, seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former Ukrainian intelligence general as well as two armored collectors, were detained while transporting approximately $40 million, 35 million euros and 9 kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine.
The NAV said it was "conducting criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering."
The agency said it allegedly "immediately informed the Ukrainian consular service about the start of the procedure, but no response had been received from the consular service up to that point."
What is known
Today night it became known that Hungary groundlessly detained two vehicles of Oschadbank's collection service and seven Ukrainian citizens who were part of the collection team.
The Ukrainians were performing regular transportation of foreign currency and bank metals between Raiffeisen Bank Austria and Oschadbank of Ukraine.
The National Bank of Ukraine released an official statement accusing Hungarian authorities of illegally seizing the state bank's collection crews.
The vehicles are now at the territory of Hungary's Anti-Terrorist Center, a security agency subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior.
This structure has previously been involved in provocations against Ukraine during the premiership of Viktor Orban.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga called the actions of the Hungarian authorities "hostage-taking and state terrorism."
It is worth adding that the incident took place against the background of worsening relations between Kiev and Budapest.
The day before, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban threatened to use force to resume Russian oil supplies through Ukraine via the Druzhba oil pipeline.