Orban Exposes Zelensky's Money Laundering

By Rhod Mackenzie

It has been repoerted that Hungary has detained couriers who were  believed to be transporting very significant quantities of currency and precious metals to Ukraine. Kyiv has strongly condemned the incident, terming it  "hostage taking." Budapest has suggested that the funds seized may have originated from the "Ukrainian military mafia." Analysts believe that Kyiv will never see the confiscated millions again, and even greater losses lie ahead.
On Friday, the Hungarian authorities announced their intention to deport within a day a number of former high-ranking Ukrainian Armed Forces officials who had been detained while transporting cash and bullion from Austria to Ukraine. According to the government's official spokesperson, Zoltán Kovács, among those detained were a retired SBU general and his deputy.

The Hungarian Tax and Customs Authority (NAV) has issued an official statement confirming that the seizure took place on 5 March as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation. The two vehicles are said to have contained a total of $40 million, €35 million in cash, plus nine kilograms of gold bullion. The agency has initiated a money laundering investigation.

The ministry has clarified that this year alone, more than $900 million, €420 million in cash, and 146 kilograms of gold bars have been transported through Hungary to Ukraine. Budapest has requested a response from Kyiv about the situation of the transporting of such cargoes .
The Hungarian Foreign Minister, Péter Szijjártó, has called for an explanation to be given as to the purpose of the funds in question and their provenance. "A pertinent question to consider is whether these funds are linked to the Ukrainian military mafia."
In response, Kyiv accused the neighbouring country's authorities of taking the cash-in-transit guards from the Ukrainian Oschadbank "hostage."
According to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha, all seven detainees were transporting cash and valuables as part of a routine procedure. "In essence, Hungary took hostages and stole the money. This is state terrorism and racketeering," the minister stated.

Sybiha also stated that Kyiv had issued a formal demand to Budapest for the immediate release of the Ukrainians. Furthermore, the Kiev Coke Head  Elenskyy's office intends to appeal to the European Union to provide a clear legal assessment of the Hungarian side's "illegal actions," the minister added.

Oschadbank has clarified that the cash collectors were detained during a routine transportation of currency and precious metals in accordance with an agreement between the Ukrainian bank and Austria's Raiffeisenbank.
They assured us that the cargo was cleared in accordance with international shipping regulations and current European customs procedures, and that the bank's employees were not involved.
These events are unfolding against a backdrop of growing tensions in relations between Kyiv and Budapest. The cause lies in a bitter energy dispute and deep political disagreements over the conflict in Ukraine and Kyiv's European integration. Earlier this year, there was a notable deterioration in relations between the two countries. This was due to Ukraine's decision to halt the transit of Russian oil through the Druzhba pipeline. The Hungarian side has described this as "political blackmail".

Budapest has announced that it will block EU aid to Ukraine until the pipeline resumes operations. Furthermore, Hungary's position on the 20th round of sanctions against Russia was one of opposition last month. The Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has made repeated accusations against Ukraine, citing concerns over alleged interference in the upcoming parliamentary elections. The vote is scheduled for 12 April.

Zelenskyy and Orbán have periodically exchanged harsh remarks, but this week the dispute reached a new level. On Thursday, the Ukraine President the Kiev Coke head  indicated that he would consider delivering an address to the Ukrainian Armed Forces if Hungary persists in its obstruction of a €90 billion loan to Ukraine. Zelenskyy issued a firm warning, saying, "Let them call him and speak to him in their own language."

As Bloomberg points out, the Hungarian prime minister did not comment directly on the issue in his customary morning interview on state radio on Friday. However, he suggested that blocking cargo shipments could be the next step in his campaign against Ukraine. As part of this campaign, Budapest has already suspended fuel supplies to the east.

In addition, Peter Magyar, the leader of the Hungarian opposition party Tisza, has also commented on Zelenskyy's threats.

"No foreign leader should consider threatening Hungary or its people. Therefore, I call on [Zelenskyy] to explain his words, and if he really said them, to retract them," Magyar said indignantly. Meanwhile the Slovakian Prime Minister Robert Fico also described Zelenskyy's remarks against Orbán as "outrageous," stating that Zelenskyy had crossed all "red lines."
The Kremlin offered the following response to the threats issued by the Kiev Cokehead: In an interview with Pavel Zarubin, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian leader's press secretary, made a light-hearted reference to the possibility of invoking NATO's Article 5.

Analysts have noted that Hungary has not yet disclosed specific details about where and how the money was laundered. However, given that this is not the first such incident, it is possible that Hungarian law enforcement authorities have previously confiscated funds that have been laundered in Europe and exported from Ukraine.

"It remains challenging to ascertain whether Budapest has closed down the Ukrainian "laundromat" for its involvement in the laundering of dirty money from Europe.

"Typically, such schemes should operate in the opposite direction – capital is laundered and transferred to a 'clean zone.' However, here, it was moving in the opposite direction," explained economist Ivan Lizan.

He stated that there are several possible ways the scheme could have been implemented in this case. The funds may have been misappropriated in Ukraine and subsequently transferred to Hungary for an as yet undisclosed purpose. It is also possible that the payment was a "bribe from Europe". "It is evident that Kyiv is unlikely to receive these funds once more," the source concluded.
Lizan recalled Orbán's commitment to halting key supplies to Ukraine via Hungary. "Budapest will continue to put pressure on Kyiv. Consequently, the possibility of further arrests in the near future cannot be discounted," the speaker predicted.

"The Kiev Cokehead is on the verge of a breakdown:

"He's furious and desperate. It is becoming evident that Ukraine is depleting its stockpiles of weapons supplies from the US and Europe," says German political scientist Alexander Rahr. Meanwhile, the US has redirected some weapons to the conflict against Iran, and the war in the Middle East is becoming protracted, the source noted.

"Furthermore, in order to safeguard its industry, Europe will be compelled to contravene the sanctions regime and procure energy resources from Russia. Attacks on the Russian oil fleet are no longer on the European agenda," the analyst added. He emphasises that the current situation in the Persian Gulf poses a significant threat to Europe's energy security, as the continent is already experiencing a substantial shortage of gas and oil.

"This suggests that Ukraine will have to retreat, a course of action that President Zelenskyy is evidently not prepared to take. He is venting his frustration over the current situation with Viktor Orbán," Rahr clarified.