Hungarian authorities have detained seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former intelligence officer, and seized two armored cars carrying large amounts of cash across Hungary on suspicion of money laundering, officials said Friday.
Ukraine accused Hungary of taking the Ukrainians hostage and illegally seizing millions of dollars in cash.
“This is state terrorism and racketeering,” Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X late Thursday.
The seven were employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Oschadbank, and they were traveling in two armored cars that were carrying the money between Austria and Ukraine when they were detained, Sybiha said.
The armored cars were carrying cash as part of regular services between state banks, he said, adding that the status of the employees was unknown.
In a separate statement, Oschadbank wrote that 40 million U.S. dollars as well as 35 million euros and 9 kilograms (19.8 pounds) of gold — worth around $1.5 million at current prices — had been apprehended by Hungary.
Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration confirmed Friday that it had detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized the two armored cash-transport vehicles. It added it was conducting criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering.
Hungary’s Interior Ministry, Foreign Ministry and Counter-Terrorism Centre did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
GPS data showed the vehicles were in the center of Budapest near one of Hungary’s law enforcement agencies, but that the location of the bank employees remained unknown, the Ukrainian bank said.
The incident further inflamed tensions between Hungary and Ukraine, which are embroiled in a bitter feud over Hungary’s access to Russian oil through a pipeline that crosses Ukrainian territory.
Oil shipments through the Druzhba pipeline have been interrupted since Jan. 27. Ukraine says a Russian drone strike damaged the pipeline’s infrastructure, and that repairing it carried risks to technicians. It said that even if restored, it would remain vulnerable to further Russian attacks.
Hungary’s government, however, has accused Ukraine of deliberately holding up supplies of Russian crude, and has vowed to take countermeasures against Kyiv until oil flows resume.
