Orbán party MP submits bill to keep seized Oschadbank cash and valuables under arrest
Máté Kocsis, an MP from the ruling Fidesz party, has submitted a bill to the Hungarian parliament proposing that cash and valuables seized from Ukraine's state-run Oschadbank remain under arrest until the ongoing criminal inquiry into the seizure is concluded.
As reported by Telex, the proposal concerns what it calls an "unusual amount" of cash and gold transported through Hungary.
Kocsis proposed treating the assets seized last week as confiscated until the end of the procedure opened by Hungary's National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV). He said authorities are examining how the purpose and intended use of the assets affect national security. Kocsis added that the way the assets were transported and the identities of those carrying them may pose a risk to Hungary's national security.
He said many aspects of what he called the "scandalous Ukrainian gold convoy" remain unclear.
Telex reported that parliament will debate the bill under an exceptional fast-track procedure, as announced during the open part of a National Security Committee meeting on Monday 9 March. The committee usually meets behind closed doors, but members moved to another room to discuss Kocsis's proposal, and the session remained open for a period.
Zsolt Molnár, an MP from the opposition MSZP party, questioned why Kocsis brought forward the proposal now, ahead of elections, and why he filed it so quickly. Zoltán Sas, Chair of the National Security Committee from the Jobbik party, also criticised the pace of the process, saying there is insufficient time to study the bill in detail.
Sas said there are also concerns about the retroactive effect of legislation linked to the proposal. Committee members nevertheless agreed that the issue may pose a national security risk.
Kocsis briefly addressed their concerns, saying that while questions about retroactive effect may arise, the proposal deals with a specific matter that requires legal regulation.
He apologised for bringing the bill forward at short notice, saying parliament will meet only on Monday and Tuesday ahead of elections, so a decision must be taken urgently.
The committee supported Kocsis's proposal by four votes, with two abstentions from Sas and Molnár. Members voted the same way to recommend that the National Assembly (Hungarian parliament) discuss the proposal as an exception.
On the evening of 6 March, the seven Ukrainian cash-in-transit workers detained along with the valuables in Hungary last week returned to Ukraine. Oschadbank and Ukraine's Foreign Ministry are demanding that Hungary return the bank's valuables and the vehicles used to transport them.