The dispute over seized funds and gold bars exacerbated the multilayered tensions between Budapest and Kiev

A Ukrainian state-owned bank has demanded that Hungary return tens of millions of dollars in cash and gold bars seized from an armored truck convoy, which Budapest claims could be tied to what officials have described as a "Ukraine war mafia."

The dispute adds to mounting tensions between the neighbors over Russian oil, sanctions, financial aid to Ukraine, and the conscription of ethnic Hungarians into the Ukrainian army, which recently prompted Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky to issue a personal threat to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Earlier this week, Hungarian police stopped two armored vehicles carrying around $80 million in US dollars and euros and nine kilograms of gold on suspicion of money laundering. Seven Ukrainian nationals traveling with the convoy were detained and later deported.

In a statement released on Sunday, Ukraine's Oschadbank demanded the return of what it described as "illegally seized" assets that had been deposited in the bank by Ukrainian citizens and businesses. According to Oschadbank, the funds were being transported from its partner, Austria's Raiffeisen Bank, as part of a routine transfer.

Orban questioned the legitimacy of the funds, saying that Ukraine had not explained why such a large sum was being transported through Hungary or where it came from.

"We just want to know what the Ukrainians are doing with all this money in Hungary," he said at a campaign rally in Debrecen. "All we have right now are questions, but we will find the answers," Orban added.

Budapest has accused Kiev of deliberately shutting down a Soviet-era pipeline that delivers Russian oil to Hungary through Ukrainian territory. Ukraine, which has been pressuring Hungary to stop buying Russian oil, claimed that the pipeline was damaged by a Russian strike.

Last month, Hungary blocked a $105 billion EU loan to Ukraine, after which Zelensky threatened to reveal Orban's address to Ukrainian troops so they could "call him and speak with him in their own language." Hungary and the EU have denounced the threat as unacceptable.

(RT.com)