Magyar orders investigation into 'gold convoy' case that caused Hungary-Ukraine rift under Orban
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Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar announced on June 17 that an "immediate" internal investigation has been ordered into the government agencies implicated in the so-called "gold convoy" scandal that strained relations between Hungary and Ukraine under former Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
"The Prosecutor General must address the matter without delay," Magyar wrote on X, specifying that the internal investigation would focus on the National Tax and Customs Administration, the Counter Terrorism Center, and "other relevant authorities" implicated in the scandal.
Hungarian authorities seized two bank vehicles in early March traveling from Austria to Ukraine that were transporting a shipment of cash and gold worth about $82 million, under the claim that they were investigating a money laundering scheme.
Employees of Ukraine's state Oschadbank who were accompanying the shipment were briefly detained by Hungarian authorities before being released the next day. Kyiv dismissed all accusations and condemned the seizure as "state terrorism."
A subsequent Hungarian media investigation alleged that Orban ordered the Ukrainian gold seizure "for political reasons."
Magyar's new government has moved to mend the diplomatic rift between Hungary and Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky reported in early May that Hungary had returned the seized Ukrainian bank assets and welcomed the mood, calling it "a civilized step" in repairing relations between the two countries.
