Hungary Planned to Accuse Ukrainian Cash-in-Transit Personnel of Terrorism

Hungary planned to “expose” Ukrainian cash-in-transit personnel from state-owned Oschadbank for allegedly illegally transporting weapons in order to create an information campaign ahead of elections about “terrorism” or “arms smuggling.”

Investigative journalists from the VSquare publication reported on this, citing their own sources.

The investigators note that Hungary’s Counter-Terrorism Center (TEK) conducted a raid on a convoy of cash-in-transit personnel from state-owned Oschadbank in an attempt to trigger a diplomatic crisis that could be used in Viktor Orban’s election campaign.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, seen as pro-Russian by critics, may lose an election for the first time in 16 years. To mobilize voters, Hungarian authorities have traditionally campaigned on countering an “external threat,” which, as in 2022, they have framed as “EU bureaucrats” and Ukraine.

On March 5, Hungarian security forces detained a Ukrainian cash-in-transit convoy, along with seven bank employees, and seized about $82 million in cash and gold during a routine transfer between Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International and the Ukrainian state bank.

Afterward, pro-government Hungarian media described the cargo as allegedly illegal and linked it to a so-called “military mafia” financing the Ukrainian army.

The couriers were deported to Ukraine the next day, but Hungarian authorities have refused to return the seized funds.

The operation was led by State Secretary for Civil Intelligence Örs Farkas, an associate of Antal Rogan, who oversees both intelligence services and government communications. The formal pretext was a counterintelligence check involving a former Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) officer who headed security for the convoy.

According to the media’s sources, Hungarian intelligence services had been monitoring the bank’s regular transfers between Austria and Ukraine since at least early January 2026, including on Austrian territory.

The initial plan was to uncover alleged illegal weapons transportation, which is why a heavily armed TEK unit was deployed. However, during a border check, all documents were found to be valid and the convoy was allowed to proceed. It was later stopped inside Hungary, where TEK carried out a forced raid.

Shortly afterward, it became clear that the transfer was legal and that the personnel were unarmed, prompting a rapid shift to a “plan B” — the NAV tax authority was made to open a money laundering case to provide formal grounds for the operation.

Despite failing from a legal standpoint, the organizers consider the operation a political success. According to sources, it triggered a response from the Ukrainian leadership that was later used in the election campaign, and enabled a broader effort to discredit Ukraine using manipulation, fabricated materials and deepfake videos. The convoy case was also used to accuse the opposition of alleged illegal financing.