Hungary held $82 million in cash and gold from Ukraine for months. Now, it faces torture complaints in Europe’s top court
Hungarian forces stopped two Oschadbank vehicles in March, carrying cash and gold from Austria to Ukraine.
In 2026, Hungary intercepted a Ukrainian Oschadbank armored convoy, seized its couriers, and detained them, holding $82 million in cash and gold. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has registered six complaints from the bank's couriers, alleging unlawful detention and torture by Hungarian police. In March, Hungarian forces stopped two bank vehicles carrying cash and metals from Austria to Ukraine, detaining seven employees and $40 million, 35 million euros, and nine kilograms of gold.
This occurred just before Hungary's parliamentary elections, which Orban's campaign had opposed Ukraine. Six couriers filed their complaints with the ECHR on July 5, 2026, and the court has confirmed their registration, assigning each an official number. Oschadbank expects the seventh courier's application to be registered as well.
The complaints are based on the European Convention on Human Rights, specifically Article 3, which prohibits torture and inhuman or degrading treatment, and Article 5, which guarantees the right to liberty and protects people from arbitrary detention. One diabetic courier was reportedly force-injected by Hungarian authorities during his detention, leading to a hypertensive crisis and a hospitalization.
Oschadbank views the registration as a significant step in defending its staff and reputation, and they are awaiting a legal assessment of the Hungarian forces' actions.
Written by urgent.news from Euromaidan Press's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
