Hungary Returns Seized Oschadbank Funds and Gold to Ukraine: €35M, $40M, and 9 kg Gold

Hungary has fully returned to Ukraine the funds and valuables of JSC «Oschadbank» that were seized by Hungarian special services in March of this year. This was announced on May 6 by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on his social media channels.

According to Zelenskyy, on May 6, the funds and valuables of Oschadbank, which the Hungarian side had unlawfully detained along with Ukrainian cash collectors, were returned. The President noted that the people were returned earlier, and now both the funds and valuables are back on Ukrainian territory in full. He thanked Hungary for its constructive stance and civilized step, and also expressed gratitude to the Ukrainian team that «fought for a fair solution» and defended Ukraine's interests.

It is worth recalling that in early March, the National Bank of Ukraine reported the seizure of Ukrainian cash collectors and a significant amount of currency by Hungarian authorities. From Oschadbank's cash collection vehicles, 35 million euros and 40 million US dollars in cash, as well as 9 gold bars weighing 1 kilogram each, were confiscated. Subsequently, Hungary released the Ukrainian cash collectors and adopted a law on the seizure of currency and valuables from Oschadbank's cash collection vehicles. Later, one of the key ministers in Viktor Orbán's government effectively admitted that the incident with the cash collectors was a response to Ukraine's «blocking» of the Druzhba oil pipeline's operation.

In April, it was reported that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy planned to discuss the return of Oschadbank's funds with Péter Magyar, the leader of the Tisza Party, which won the elections in Hungary.