Hungary has returned cash and gold belonging to Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank after the assets were seized in March, closing a dispute that had added to tensions between Kyiv and Budapest.
Hungary has returned to Ukraine the cash and gold belonging to state-owned Oschadbank that had been seized by Hungarian authorities in March, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday.
According to Reuters, the assets, worth approximately $82 million, were returned in full after being held by Hungarian authorities for nearly two months. Zelenskyy said the money and valuables were now back on Ukrainian territory.
“Today the funds and valuables of Oschadbank, which were seized by Hungarian special services in March this year, were returned,” Zelenskyy said in a statement. He added that Ukrainian cash-in-transit officers had been “unlawfully detained” at the time of the incident, but had been returned earlier.
The seized shipment included $40 million, €35 million and nine gold bars weighing one kilogram each, according to Associated Press. The assets were being transported by Oschadbank personnel when the convoy was stopped in Hungary.
The March incident triggered a diplomatic dispute between Kyiv and Budapest. Hungarian authorities said at the time that the seizure was linked to a suspected money-laundering investigation. Ukraine rejected that explanation, saying the assets belonged to Oschadbank and had been transported under official procedures.
Hungarian authorities had intercepted two Ukrainian armoured bank vehicles carrying cash and gold. Seven Ukrainian nationals were detained in connection with the case.
Following the seizure, Hungary adopted a special measure allowing the state to retain control of the assets while the investigation continued. Ukrainian media and officials subsequently linked the dispute to broader tensions between the two countries, including disagreements over energy transit and the Druzhba oil pipeline.
Relations between Ukraine and Hungary had already been strained under Viktor Orbán’s government. Budapest repeatedly obstructed EU measures relating to Ukraine, including financial assistance and sanctions-related decisions, while maintaining a position on Russia that differed from most other EU member states.
The return of the Oschadbank assets comes against the background of political change in Hungary.
Zelenskyy thanked Hungary for what he described as a constructive and civilised step. He also expressed gratitude to those on the Ukrainian side who had worked to secure what he called a fair decision and to defend Ukraine’s interests.
The restitution removes an immediate source of friction between Kyiv and Budapest. It may also provide an early indication of whether Hungary’s new political leadership intends to alter the tone of relations with Ukraine after years of disputes over EU policy, energy, sanctions and Russia.
However, several questions remain unresolved. Hungary had initially framed the seizure as part of a criminal investigation, while Ukraine maintained that the assets were state-owned bank property and had been detained without proper grounds. There has so far been no detailed public explanation from Budapest on how the case was closed.
