The Hungarian government will investigate the purposes for which employees of the Ukrainian state-owned Savings Bank brought tens of millions of dollars and euros in cash into Hungary and who this money was intended for. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said this while speaking at a meeting with activists of the ruling Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Union party in Debrecen.
„We want to know what the Ukrainians are doing with all this money in Hungary“, the government head said, noting that „there are certain suspicions about it“. He added that "some Hungarian parties friendly to Ukraine" are doing well financially, although it is known that not all of their funds come from individual donations.
The Hungarian government has previously repeatedly stated that the Ukrainian authorities openly support the opposition party Tisza, Fidesz's main rival in the upcoming parliamentary elections on April 12. Under Hungarian law, foreign financing of political parties is considered a crime.
"I want to know how this money ends up in these pockets. We will look for the answer to this question and we will find it," Orban warned, his words broadcast on Hungarian television. He also stressed that the future of the funds depends on their source: “We will take care of the fate of the seized money when we find out what it is”.
On March 6, the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration reported that seven employees of Östádbank, including a former intelligence general, were detained in the country for transporting USD 40 million, EUR 35 million in cash and gold bars weighing a total of 9 kg in two cash trucks. The cash collectors were later released and returned to Ukraine, while the money and valuables remained in Hungary. They became evidence in a criminal case that is currently under investigation. The Hungarian Counter-Terrorism Center is assisting in this process.
The Ukrainian authorities consider the detention of the cash collectors to be unfounded. They stated that the money was legally obtained from Raiffeisen Bank in Vienna and from there was transported to Kiev for Osthadbank.