Ukraine's ambassador to Hungary on Oschadbank cash-in-transit case: assets must be returned and those responsible must face punishment

Ukraine's Ambassador to Hungary Fedir Shandor has emphasised with regard to the case of Hungary's seizure of Ukrainian cash-in-transit vehicles and valuables that it is not enough simply to return the assets – those responsible must also be held accountable.

Source: Shandor in an interview with European Pravda

Details: The ambassador said the work on this case has not stopped.

Quote: "Violations of the rights of seven Ukrainians have been documented – they were unlawfully detained, subjected to torture and denied consular access. As has the seizure of the vehicles, which are Ukrainian property and were subsequently returned damaged. And the cargo they were transporting – euros, dollars and gold bars – is still on Hungarian territory."

More details: The ambassador noted that all of this will be the subject of legal proceedings, as those responsible must be held accountable. He stressed that what happened was a crime.

Quote: "There are those who committed it – representatives of the Hungarian special services and others. The Hungarian press has named those who did it, identified where they did it, and detailed what violations were committed...

And what has to happen now is not merely the return of the valuables, but also punishment. For the time being, this property constitutes material evidence of the crime committed. Yes, the money must be returned to Ukraine, but there must also be accountability, so that no such precedents occur again."

Background:

• In early March, the National Bank of Ukraine reported that the Hungarian authorities had detained seven Ukrainian cash-in-transit workers and seized a large sum of foreign currency.
• Hungary later released the cash-in-transit workers and passed legislation providing for the confiscation of the currency and valuables from Oschadbank's cash-in-transit vehicles.
• A key minister in Orbán's government later effectively acknowledged that the cash-in-transit incident was a response to Ukraine's supposed "blocking" of repairs to the Druzhba oil pipeline.

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