Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank has accused Hungarian authorities of falsifying a video cited as evidence in an investigation linked to the seizure of an armored cash-in-transit convoy in March.
In a statement published Wednesday, the bank said the video presented by Hungary’s National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) contained misleading subtitles that were not present in the original audio recording.
According to Oschadbank, Hungarian-language subtitles were added later, including the phrase “corrupt money,” which the bank said did not appear in the original recording.
“It is on this specially added phrase that the NAV’s conclusions in linking this video to the case of illegal detention of Oschadbank funds are based,” the bank said.
Oschadbank said the footage was archival and recorded on March 10, 2025, near Vienna during a stop caused by a technical malfunction in the vehicle’s power system. Employees were using an external power source to print documents required for an international cash transfer, all of which were properly stamped by EU and Ukrainian customs authorities.
The bank said this confirms the legality of the operation carried out under an international agreement with Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank, after Hungarian authorities seized the armored vehicles in Budapest on March 5 during the transport of $79 million in cash and gold from Austria to Ukraine.
Although the seven Ukrainian personnel were released the following day and the vehicle was released a few days later, the financial assets remain in Hungarian custody amid an ongoing investigation.
Oschadbank said it is preparing international legal action to recover the seized assets and contest what it described as a violation of its employees’ rights and international transit agreements.
Kyiv and Budapest have long been locked in a diplomatic standoff over Hungary’s purchases of Russian energy, among other issues, with Orban demanding that Kyiv repair the Druzhba pipeline carrying Russian oil, which Ukraine says was damaged by Russian strikes.
The seizure of the armored convoy came days after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban warned he would “break the Ukrainian oil blockade by force,” with Hungary’s foreign minister having traveled to Moscow for an in-person meeting with Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin just days before the incident.