One of the couriers transporting funds for Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank was hospitalized after being detained by Hungarian authorities during the seizure of an $82 million cash convoy, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday, March 11.
According to Ukraine’s central bank governor Andriy Pyshny, Hungarian counterterrorism officers intercepted two armored vehicles carrying banknotes and gold from Austria to Ukraine and detained the couriers during the operation.
Pyshny said the detainees were subjected to harsh interrogations, with one of the couriers rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
“All this happened in the center of Europe in 2026, in a country that is an EU member and whose government fully disregards European regulations, rules and values,” Pyshny said in an interview with Bloomberg News, calling the incident “absurd and illegal.”
The convoy was transporting about $82 million worth of banknotes and gold in what officials described as a routine operation to replenish cash supplies in Ukraine’s wartime economy.
Hungarian authorities seized the cargo and initially detained seven Oschadbank employees. The couriers were later released following intervention by Ukrainian officials, but the money and gold remain in Hungarian custody.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky earlier accused Hungary of “banditry” after Budapest refused to release the funds.
Hungarian authorities said the couriers were suspects in a money-laundering investigation. However, Raiffeisen Bank International, which organized the transfer, said it had provided extensive documentation about the transport and that cross-border cash transfers between banks are common practice.
The convoy carried about $40 million, €35 million and nine kilograms of gold. It was part of regular ground cash deliveries used to supply Ukrainian banks after air transport was halted due to Russia’s full-scale invasion.
The incident has further escalated tensions between Kyiv and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, whose government has repeatedly clashed with Ukraine over energy transit and EU financial support.
Following the seizure, Ukraine’s central bank advised commercial banks to avoid transporting funds through Hungary and filed complaints with the European Commission and the European Central Bank over the incident.