Hungary says it detains 7 Ukrainians for suspected money laundering

BUDAPEST/KYIV – Hungary said on March 6 it had detained seven Ukrainians carrying around US$82 million (S$105 million) in cash and gold on suspicion of money laundering, as Kyiv accused Budapest of taking bank employees hostage amid a dispute over oil shipments.

The Hungarian Tax Authority’s decision to have counter-terrorism forces swoop on two Ukrainian armoured vehicles transporting cash to Ukraine marks a dramatic escalation of tensions that have already resulted in Budapest blocking tens of billions of euros in European Union aid for Kyiv.

“The National Tax and Customs Administration is pursuing criminal proceedings on suspicion of money laundering,” the authority said in a statement.

“On March 5, 2026, it detained seven Ukrainian citizens, including a former Ukrainian intelligence service general, and two armoured cash-in-transit vehicles, which were transporting a total of US$40 million, €35 million (S$51.9 million) and 9kg of gold from Austria to Ukraine.”

The tax authority said it was working together with counter-terrorism forces.

Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said Ukraine must provide answers regarding cash transits across Hungary.

The Telex news site reported earlier on March 6 that Hungary’s counter-terrorism forces had raided two cash-in-transit vehicles with Ukrainian licence plates on a highway.

Ukraine accuses Hungary of ‘taking hostages’

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the people detained were employees of Oschadbank. “In fact, we are talking about Hungary taking hostages and stealing money,” Mr Sybiha wrote on X. “This is state terrorism and racketeering.”

He said Ukraine had sent an official note demanding the immediate release of its citizens and would ask the EU to “provide a clear qualification of Hungary’s unlawful actions”.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry later advised Ukrainian citizens against travel to Hungary, saying it could not guarantee their safety amid what it called the “arbitrary actions” of the Hungarian authorities. Hungarian police and a government spokesperson did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Orban vows more pressure on Kyiv

Hungary and Slovakia accuse Ukraine of deliberately delaying the resumption of oil flows via the damaged Druzhba pipeline for political reasons. Kyiv denies the charge, saying it needs time to repair the damage caused to energy infrastructure by a Russian drone strike on Jan 27.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who faces a serious challenge to his 16-year rule in an election on April 12, has vetoed new EU sanctions on Moscow as well as a huge EU loan for Ukraine over the oil dispute.

Mr Orban again accused Kyiv on March 6 of blackmail, and said Hungary would use all means at its disposal until oil flows resume.

“We have stopped... diesel exports to Ukraine, we still maintain power exports, and we will stop transit shipments going through Hungary that are important for Ukraine... until we get Ukraine’s approval for the oil shipments,” Mr Orban told state radio. He did not refer to the detention of the bank employees.

GPS signal

The Ukrainian savings bank said its employees had been carrying US$40 million, €35 million and 9kg of gold. It said a Global Positioning System signal showed that its vehicles were now near a building of Hungary’s security services in Budapest.

“The transportation of funds and valuables was carried out by Oschadbank within the framework of and in accordance with an international agreement with Raiffeisen Bank, Austria,” Oschadbank said in a statement.

“The cargo was cleared in accordance with international transportation rules and applicable European customs procedures.”

Raiffeisen International, when contacted by Reuters, declined to comment on the matter, citing banking secrecy rules. REUTERS