The Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto made a statement regarding the need for clarifications from Ukraine about the transportation of a significant amount of cash through Hungary. According to him, the authorities of the country have a number of important questions regarding the volumes and purpose of these transits.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Hungarian Suspicions About the Origin of the Cash
The head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry emphasized that the country is interested in whether this cash was used within Hungary or if it was merely being transported in transit for the benefit of others. Szijjarto noted that the volumes of cash being transported raise concerns, particularly due to the possible absence of bank transfers between financial institutions, which is usually standard practice.
“We have a number of serious questions regarding this. First of all, this is an enormous sum of cash; why do the Ukrainians need to transport such a large amount? If it is true that this is a transaction between banks, then the question arises as to why the banks are not settling this among themselves through a transfer, why it is necessary for such a large sum of cash to travel, especially through Hungary,” the diplomat stated.
According to the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration, the last cash transport was accompanied by a former general of the Ukrainian intelligence service. Szijjarto claims that since January of this year, 900 million dollars, 420 million euros, and 146 kilograms of gold have been transported through Hungarian territory.
Response from the Ukrainian Side and Developments
The minister emphasized that until clear explanations regarding the origin and purpose of the funds are received, the Hungarian authorities plan to conduct a thorough investigation into this matter.
Previously, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister reported that Hungarian law enforcement had detained seven employees of the state-owned “Oschadbank,” who were traveling in two armored vehicles between Austria and Ukraine. In connection with this, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry advised citizens to refrain from traveling to Hungary or transiting through the country.
“Oschadbank” stated that its two armored vehicles with seven employees were detained in Hungary without cause during a regular transportation of foreign currency and banking metals between “Raiffeisen Bank Austria” and “Oschadbank Ukraine.” According to the bank’s estimates, the vehicles contained 40 million dollars, 35 million euros, and 9 kilograms of gold. The financial institution demands the immediate release of its employees, the return of the property, and their return to Ukraine.
According to media reports, the detained armored vehicles were placed by the Hungarian authorities in a restricted area of the country’s Anti-Terrorism Center.
On the eve, the Hungarian government described the recent statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as an “open threat.” During a briefing on March 5 in Kyiv, he stated that he could disclose the address of a person in the European Union who is blocking assistance to Ukraine, without naming specific individuals.