Brazen and illegal – National Bank of Ukraine on raid against bank vehicles ordered by Orbán

“We believe that the operation conducted against the personnel of Ukrainian cash-in-transit vehicles was not only brazen but illegal as well. We hope the incident will be handled accordingly,” the National Bank of Ukraine stated in a formal response sent to our paper, in reaction to an investigative article published by Telex on Wednesday. According to the article, several sources with insight into or involvement in the matter said that it was the government—specifically Viktor Orbán—who decided that the Ukrainian “gold convoy” should be intercepted on March 5, even though there was no professional justification for it.

The Ukrainian central bank is hoping for a firm response because it is convinced that the rule of law must remain a fundamental value of the EU. According to the central bank, the Hungarian authorities’ March operation undermines efforts to support Ukraine and also threatens the institutions and reputation of the EU.

In its statement, the National Bank of Ukraine also noted that the illegal nature of the operation against the Ukrainian cash-in-transit operator is evidenced by the fact that “the Hungarian authorities—on their own initiative and prior to the conclusion of the court proceedings—ended up revoking the deportation orders issued against all seven employees of Oschadbank as well as the three-year bans on their entry into and residence in the Schengen area.”

While the central bank welcomes these recent decisions, it will continue, alongside Oschadbank and the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to conduct an objective investigation into the circumstances of the events and will also work to secure appropriate compensation “for the material and moral damage caused to Oschadbank’s assets and employees.”

On March 5, two armored vehicles carrying cash from Austria to Ukraine were pulled over by a police car at the Alacska rest stop near Budapest. The shipment was on its way from Raiffeisen Bank in Austria to Oschadbank’s Ukrainian headquarters via a transit route which was well-known to the Hungarian authorities. Despite this, members of the Hungarian Counterterrorism Center intercepted the Ukrainians at the Alacska rest stop fully armed.

The 27 billion forints in cash and investment gold found in the vans was seized by the National Tax and Customs Administration, while the Ukrainian cash couriers were released hours later and were deported from the country. The Orbán government proudly reported on the spectacular raid; and right up until the end of the election campaign, the government's communication consistently implied that the Ukrainians had been transporting the money and gold illegally.