The government ordered an immediate internal investigation at the tax and customs authority NAV, the Anti-Terrorism Centre and other agencies involved in the so-called “gold convoy” case, Prime Minister Péter Magyar said on Facebook on Wednesday.
PM Péter Magyar ordered immediate internal investigation
Magyar also called on the public prosecutor to “make a statement on the issue immediately.” Money and gold belonging to the Ukrainian state-owned financial institution Oschadbank were seized by Hungarian intelligence agencies on 5 March while the shipment was transiting Hungary on its way from Austria to Ukraine. According to a previous statement by the tax authority, the vehicles contained 40 million dollars, 35 million euros and 9kg of gold. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on 6 May that Hungary had returned the money and gold to Ukraine.
The “suspicious” Ukrainian gold convoy
Chief Prosecutor Pál Fürcht, head of the Central Investigative Prosecutor’s Office (KNYF), tendered his resignation several days ago, citing in part what he described as unlawful practices employed during proceedings related to the Ukrainian “gold convoy”. According to HVG, his departure has triggered what insiders are calling a “palace revolt”, one that could ultimately engulf the Prosecutor General himself, Gábor Bálint Nagy.
Péter Magyar has long been calling for the resignation of the Prosecutor General—appointed with a two-thirds parliamentary majority by Fidesz—alongside other similarly installed officeholders, including the President of the Republic. For now, however, none have yielded.
In an article published at dawn today, HVG reports deepening fault lines within the highly centralised prosecutorial system, noting that “prosecutors who are, in theory, expected to act independently are in reality very much under the influence of political parties”.
The gold convoy affair has raised the spectre of unlawful detention, with the trail potentially leading as far as the recently dismissed head of the Counter Terrorism Centre (TEK) and even Prime Minister Viktor Orbán himself.
PM Orbán ordered the action
According to background information obtained by Telex, it was Orbán who ordered the raid on the convoy during the final stretch of the election campaign. The apparent aim was to construct a link between the money and gold transported by the convoy and the Tisza Party; however, the narrative failed to gain traction, and the election instead delivered a two-thirds victory for Tisza.
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On another front, Orbán is said to have sought to send a message to Kyiv over the suspension of oil deliveries, having become convinced that Hungary was being denied supplies on political grounds following the Russian attack on the Druzhba pipeline.
Telex further reports that the cash transfer operation conducted by the Ukrainians was entirely lawful and had proceeded without disruption since 2022, with multiple agreements in place between Ukrainian authorities and the Hungarian police to secure the shipments.
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