Hungary's parliament is fast-tracking legislation to justify the seizure and retention of €71 million in cash and gold destined for Ukraine, as János Lázár, Minister of Construction and Transport, declared the government has no intention of returning the funds.
"We didn't do this by chance, we won't return the money to them," Lázár stated on his program "Lázárinfó Expressz," explicitly linking the action to Ukraine's shutdown of the Druzhba oil pipeline that supplies Hungary. "If they're blackmailing us, we can't be so foolish as to let it happen."
The seizure, which occurred as a cash shipment from Austria's Raiffeisen Bank to Ukraine's state-owned Oschadbank passed through Hungarian territory, represents an escalation in bilateral tensions between Budapest and Kyiv. What makes this development particularly significant is that Hungarian authorities are now constructing a legal framework to hold the assets for at least 60 days while conducting what officials characterize as money-laundering investigations.
Hungary's NAV tax authority opened a criminal investigation into the intercepted Ukrainian transporters on March 6, citing concerns about potential money laundering, organized crime financing, and political funding. Lázár questioned why Ukraine required physical currency rather than wire transfers, suggesting the transaction itself raised red flags.
"The longer the oil pipeline reopening takes, the more thorough investigations are needed," Lázár added, making explicit the connection between the seized funds and the pipeline dispute. Government sources emphasized that monthly outflows had exceeded the value of oil received, framing the seizure as leverage to ensure pipeline operations resume.
