Hungary has announced it has “evidence” in the case involving cash-in-transit vehicles: the bank’s response
8 April 18:33
The Hungarian government has announced the emergence of new evidence in the case involving the theft of cash and valuables from Ukrainian cash-in-transit vehicles in early March.
This was reported by government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács, according to "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, the new information was released by the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration.
What the Hungarian side claims
According to Hungarian investigators, the armored vehicles were allegedly transporting “freshly printed euros and dollars” that were not in circulation.
Kovács claims that the money may be linked to a number of financial institutions, including:
- Oschadbank
- banks in Poland
- financial institutions in Gibraltar.
At the same time, the origin and destination of the funds, according to the Hungarian side, have not yet been established.
What amounts are involved
According to the Hungarian government, the following amounts were seized during the incident:
- approximately $40 million;
- 35 million euros;
- 9 kilograms of gold.
In total, the cargo is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
The video the government is referring to
A spokesperson for the Hungarian government stated that among the evidence is a video recording in which a former major general of Ukrainian intelligence allegedly forges documents at a gas station.
He also said that the video may contain conversations about payments linked to corruption.
There is currently no independent confirmation of these claims.
The Hungarian government’s position
The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration stated that:
- it has reached out to international partners regarding cooperation;
- all investigative actions were conducted in accordance with the law;
- allegations of illegal actions are rejected.
What Oschadbank Says
Oschadbank claims that the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) falsified the video it released as further “evidence” in the case involving the detention of Ukrainian cash collectors, according to a statement from the bank.
They say the published video was likely obtained from the mobile phone of one of the detained cash collectors. However, the bank believes that the seizure of the phone, gaining access to its contents, and its publication are unlawful, since the Hungarian law enforcement officials themselves state that the detainees had witness status.
Furthermore, the bank asserts that the recording itself “was falsified”: a phrase about “corruption money” was added to the Hungarian subtitles, which is not heard in the audio track.
The bank explains that the video was recorded a year ago, on March 10, 2025, near Vienna. Cash collection teams, they say, often need to print out a set of documents on the road because they leave before the counterparty has prepared the funds.
Although cash collection vehicles are equipped with a mobile office featuring a laptop, a printer, a Starlink terminal, and an inverter, the inverter malfunctioned during the trip on March 10, 2025.
That is why the team, they say, was forced to use access to the power grid to print documents in a parking lot. This decision was due to the fact that the cash collection team does not stay in hotels on short routes (lasting three days).
The set of documents for receiving the cargo, which was printed, included the CMR, packing list, invoice, and waybill, and the team leader’s signature on the documents was certified with a stamp. At the same time, all these processes, according to Oschadbank, were properly documented and entered into the systems of the customs authorities of the European Union and Ukraine.
The bank also published a version of the video from another mobile phone, which had not been processed to reduce sound quality.
What is known about the incident
The incident occurred on March 5, when Ukrainian cash-in-transit vehicles were stopped in Hungary.
Subsequently:
- Oschadbank recovered the vehicles;
- the seized money and valuables remain in Hungary.
Complaint and charges
Representatives of Oschadbank filed a complaint with the Hungarian prosecutor’s office.
According to them:
- the cash collectors were handcuffed during their detention;
- one of them received two injections between interrogations.
These circumstances have become the subject of a separate investigation.
