Ukrainian bank workers released after detention in Hungary (Thanks to Matte for this one)
Ukraine has secured the release of seven Ukrainian bank workers arrested on Thursday in Hungary while transporting $80m (£60m) worth of cash and 9kg of gold in cash-transport vehicles to Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha said on X on Friday evening that the workers were safe and across the Ukrainian border.
After Sybiha accused Budapest of taking the group hostage and stealing money, Hungary's tax authority said they had been detained on suspicion of money laundering.
Ukraine's state savings bank, Oschadbank, said they had been part of a regular transport between Austria and Ukraine and were "unjustifiably detained".
"This year alone, more than $900m, €420m and 146 kg of gold bars were transported through the territory of Hungary to Ukraine," the national tax and customs administration said in a statement on Friday.
It is not yet clear what has happened to the enormous sums of cash and the gold seized on Thursday, but Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski said "they've stolen the money".
Relations between Ukraine and Hungary have deteriorated during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and have descended into a war of words over a halt to Russian oil supplies through the Druzhba pipeline in Ukraine.
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| Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha has accused Hungary's leaders of "state banditry" |
