One Week in the Shadow of the Gold Convoy Case: From the Raid to the Ukrainian War Mafia

A number of details have emerged over the past week regarding the Ukrainian gold convoy case, but many questions still remain about the enormous sums of cash and the gold involved. The central issue still awaiting clarification is who the nearly 30 billion forints in seized money and valuables were intended for and for what use. The shipment was seized by the Hungarian National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV), and a criminal investigation has been launched on suspicion of money laundering.

A Romanian connection has now emerged in the Ukrainian gold convoy scandal (Photo: MTI/Government of Hungary)

The scandal that broke out a week ago over the Ukrainian gold convoy has not subsided. The case reaches far beyond itself and could even offer insight into the collusion between pro-war forces, including Zelensky-led Ukrainian leadership and Brussels.

But let us look at what we know so far.

On March 5, Hungarian authorities stopped two armored cash transport vehicles and seven Ukrainian citizens. The vehicles were traveling from Austria to Ukraine and carried 40 million dollars, 35 million euros, and nine kilograms of gold, together totaling nearly 30 billion forints.

The transport operation was supervised by a former general of the Ukrainian Defense Service. His deputy was a former air force major, while the other participants also had military backgrounds.

Hungarian authorities seized the shipment, and the seven Ukrainian nationals were first questioned and then expelled from the country. The scenes of the raid, resembling an action movie, can be viewed in a video published on the government’s YouTube channel.

Who Was the Cash Intended For?

NAV launched a criminal investigation on suspicion of money laundering. The authority also stated that more than 900 million dollars, 420 million euros, and 146 kilograms of gold bars had already been transported through Hungary to Ukraine this year.

The total value of the dollars, euros, and gold transported in just two months amounts to roughly 480 billion forints.

One of the most important questions is who the massive amount of cash and gold was intended for. Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto stated that the Hungarian government is  demanding an immediate explanation from Ukraine. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha accused Hungary of taking hostages and steatling the money. He also spoke about state terrorism and blackmail.

Although some of the Hungarian media outlets, partly financed from abroad — including Partizan and 444.hu — repeated the Ukrainian narrative, new details have continued to emerge suggesting that the gold convoy case is anything but ordinary. Among others, this was also stated by Peter Tarjanyi, a security policy expert often described as close to the opposition. He said that 

 the money would most likely not have been used for the purposes described in the official Ukrainian explanation.

Euros Rolling in the Wrong Direction

Magyar Nemzet managed to speak with one of NAV’s experts in the case, who pointed out that it was highly unusual that investment gold was being transported into a war zone rather than being taken out of it.

He also described it as strange that some media reports never raised the possibility that a Ukrainian savings bank might need such a huge amount of cash and gold because criminal groups want to carry out financial transactions untraceable in the banking system.

Meanwhile, Jozsef Horvath, director of the Sovereignty Protection Research Institute, pointed out among many other things that at least one third of the weapons sent to Ukraine end up on the black market. He considered it possible that someone paid such a large amount of money for a shipment of this kind. He added that another factor to be taken into account is that Hungary is heading toward parliamentary elections. “It is obvious to everyone that Brussels and Kyiv are interested in a change of government in Hungary. The Ukrainian threats and the shutdown of the oil pipeline could have taken place at the request of Brussels,” he said.

Suspicious Ukrainian financial movements in the territory of Hungary were also discussed at a recent meeting of the parliament’s National Security Committee. Reporting on the meeting, Mate Kocsis, the parliamentary group leader of Fidesz, emphasized the importance of providing additional tools to NAV. Meanwhile, the Hungarian parliament has adopted a legislative proposal under fast-track procedure submitted in connection with the gold convoy case. According to the justification, the manner in which the assets were transported and the identities of the individuals carrying out the shipment raise additional national security risks.

Questions Also Raised in Ukrainian Media

It is noteworthy that Ukrainian media have also discussed the suspicious circumstances surrounding the gold convoy.

In a television program, a reporter questioned why an intelligence service general was present in a cash transport vehicle, which is explicitly prohibited by regulations.

However, instead of providing a meaningful explanation, the invited political scientist expressed outrage that the reporter was playing into the hands of Viktor Orban.

According to a former Ukrainian prosecutor, however, the gold convoy case does involve criminal activity. Stanislav Bronevytskyi has initiated criminal proceedings in Ukraine as well on strong suspicion of money laundering linked to the cash shipment operation.

A well-known Ukrainian political scientist, Mykola Davydiuk, went even further, pointing out that

the shipment of such large quantities of money may be connected to an attempted money laundering operation by a war mafia linked to the Ukrainian government. He also sent a message to the Ukrainian political elite, saying they should steal less.

He recalled that in Switzerland Ukrainian cash transport vehicles carrying money belonging to top leaders had already been stopped several times, with those leaders attempting to prevent inspections through diplomatic influence.

The Romanian Connection

Meanwhile, it has also emerged that since the first day of the war the Ukrainians have continuously been moving massive amounts of euros and dollars through Romania. This was reported on social media by Romanian investigative journalist Iosefina Pascal, who supported her claim with a video footage recording a conversation between two employees of a Romanian cash transport company.