Hungary has openly admitted that it will use the seized Ukrainian shipment of cash and gold to blackmail Kyiv. According to the server 444.hu, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrej Sybiha said this on Tuesday in response to the statement of Hungarian Minister of Construction and Transport János Lázár, informs TASR correspondent in Budapest.
According to the Kyiv Independent newspaper, Sybiha said that Hungarians openly admit to taking hostages and stealing money to demand ransom. 444.hu noted that the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, in connection with the detention of seven Ukrainians, talked about taking hostages from the beginning.
Securing the shipment of money to Ukraine by the Hungarian anti-terrorist unit on Hungarian territory was not accidental. He announced this on Monday in the Hungarian city of Gödöllő Lázár. He added that they will not return the shipment to Kyiv until oil flows through the Druzhba pipeline.
“The money will stay here for now. We are waiting for the opening of the oil pipeline and we are waiting for new Ukrainian money shipments through Hungary,” added the minister. According to him, questions related to money laundering, the financing of organized crime and the financing of politics are relevant in this case. “The longer it takes to restore the pipeline, the more thorough the investigation will be.” pointed out Lázár.
On Tuesday, the Hungarian Parliament approved the proposal of the Committee for National Security of the National Assemblyaccording to which the case of a seized shipment of Ukrainian cash and gold in Hungary will be investigated by the National Office for Taxes and Customs (NAV).
Two armored cash vehicles used by banks were seized by a unit of the Hungarian anti-terrorist center TEK last Thursday (March 5) at a gas station on the M0 highway. The Ukrainians transporting the money were released and deported, and a diplomatic dispute arose between Hungary and Ukraine over the legality of the detention.
