Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar has ordered an investigation into the seizure of Ukrainian collectors and funds from “Oschadbank” in Budapest this spring.
He reported this on the social network X.
According to Magyar, the inspection will be conducted at the National Tax and Customs Administration, the Counter-Terrorism Center, and other state agencies. Magyar called on the Prosecutor General to immediately take up the case.
The decision was made after a journalistic investigation by the Hungarian media outlet Telex in early June, which concluded that the operation was ordered by then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
According to Telex sources, Orban ordered the forceful action as a “response” to Ukraine for stopping oil transit through the “Druzhba” oil pipeline, which was damaged by a Russian strike. At the time, the Hungarian prime minister was convinced that Kyiv had stopped oil transit for political reasons, not for repairs.
Kidnapping of the “Oschadbank” colllectors in Hungary
On Thursday, March 5, Hungarian security forces conducted a raid against collectors of the Ukrainian “Oschadbank" — they were detained and their funds and valuables were confiscated. On the evening of March 6, all seven collectors were deported to Ukraine.
On April 8, Budapest tried to justify the attack by publishing a edited video with fake subtitles about alleged “forgery of documents” and “corruption money”. Hungary also declared the transportation of the new banknotes illegal, although the bank stressed that this was completely in line with legal activity.
After the elections, on May 6, Budapest returned all confiscated funds and valuables to “Oschadbank" — $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kg of gold, and on May 18, the deportation decision and three-year ban on entry to the Schengen zone were officially canceled for all collectors.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine, please follow us on X.