Budapest probes seizure of Ukrainian bank assets

Prime Minister Peter Magyar, who took office following a decisive election victory in April, signaled a sharp shift in policy by demanding the prosecutor general address the incident immediately. The seized assets, which belonged to Ukraine’s Oschadbank, were returned to Kyiv only days before Magyar’s inauguration. Bank officials maintained the transport was a routine operation, a process they had conducted weekly since the onset of the Russian invasion.

The detention took place under the previous administration of Viktor Orban, who frequently blocked European Union sanctions against Moscow and campaigned on a platform of skepticism toward military and financial aid for Ukraine. The investigation seeks to clarify the legal basis for the state's actions against the transport vehicles and the subsequent detention of the bank staff, marking a significant effort to distance the new government from the confrontational tactics of its predecessor.