Szijjártó called Kyiv’s reaction to the seizure of money from Ukrainian cash couriers in Hungary “panic”

Panic has begun in Kyiv because Hungary confiscated currency and gold being transported by employees of Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said.

This was reported by the MTI news agency.

Speaking to journalists in Budapest, Szijjártó said that Hungary’s ambassador in Kyiv had again been summoned to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, where officials limited themselves solely to demanding the return of the money and were unable to answer Hungary’s questions. According to him, a noticeable panic broke out among Ukrainians after they were “seriously caught” moving hundreds of millions of euros and dollars through Hungary.

Szijjártó emphasized that bringing a large amount of money into the country under suspicious circumstances had become a national security issue. He said there are legitimate questions about the purpose for which the money was brought into Hungary and who it was intended for. He also asked whether the movement of hundreds of millions of euros and dollars might be linked to what he described as Kyiv’s increasingly obvious interference in Hungary’s parliamentary elections.

On March 9, it was reported that a bill had been registered in Hungary’s parliament to allow the temporary holding of cash and gold seized from Ukrainian citizens for up to 60 days in order to verify their origin.

Seven Ukrainian citizens were detained in Hungary while transporting $40 million and €35 million in cash and 9 kg of gold in bars. The money and precious metal were seized by Hungarian authorities. Prime Minister Viktor Orbán warned that the valuables would not be returned until the investigation is completed.