Former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán may have personally ordered the detention of an Oschadbank vehicle carrying cash and gold from Vienna to Kyiv. The investigation into the case could become the first criminal proceeding in which Orbán is formally charged.
On 5 March in Hungary, local law enforcement detained seven Ukrainian cash couriers who, in two Oschadbank vehicles, were transporting $40m and about €35m, as well as gold bars, under an arrangement with Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank.
Orbán’s team at the time used the story in the election campaign, claiming that Kyiv was supposedly secretly transferring money to the Hungarian opposition.
The Ukrainians were later released, the cargo was returned to Ukraine, and the investigation into them was closed for lack of evidence.
Former prosecutor Pál Fürcht, who led the case, said Orbán personally instructed the security services to detain the Ukrainian couriers. According to him, after he reported the results of the investigation to the leadership, he was criticised and an internal review was launched against him. Hungary’s Prosecutor General’s Office denied any attempts to silence Fürcht.
As the FT writes, the former prosecutor’s account is backed up by a prosecution report from June. In it, János Hajdu, head of Hungary’s Counter Terrorism Centre, said the detention took place on the decision of a person who could not be brought into the case. The report interpreted this as a hint at Orbán.
Hajdu was removed from his post. He is now responsible for the security of the Fidesz party and is named in the case concerning the unlawful detention and ill-treatment of the Ukrainian workers. He denies wrongdoing.
Orbán did not respond to the FT’s request for comment, and a Fidesz representative said the former prime minister did not order the convoy to be detained.
The investigation is part of a broader campaign by the government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar aimed at examining possible abuses during Orbán’s time in power.
Abduction of Funds
- On 5 March, Hungarian law enforcement detained Ukrainian cash couriers who, in two Oschadbank vehicles, were transporting funds ($40m and about €35m) and gold bars under an arrangement with Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank. As civilian aviation in Ukraine is currently not operating because of the war, delivery of currency from foreign banks is only possible by land.
- There was no contact with the couriers — the Hungarians held them for several days and, as later emerged, used force against them.
- Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said they would determine whether the money was not from the “Ukrainian mafia”. Even the Austrian bank explained the origin of the funds to them.
- Hungary legalised the seizure of the funds by adopting the relevant law and a decree by the prime minister.
- The country first sent the couriers home, then the vehicles. The money and valuables were returned only on 6 May — after Orbán’s election defeat.