Hungary may open a criminal case against ex-Prime Minister Orban for the detention of Oschadbank collectors

A criminal case may be opened against former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on suspicion of participation in planning an operation to detain Oschadbank collectors.

The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Office detained seven Ukrainian citizens on suspicion of money laundering and deported them to Ukraine on the same day.

Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar ordered an internal investigation to clarify the role of Orban and the former head of the Anti-Terrorism Center, Janos Hajdu, in the case.

MOSCOW, October 2 - RIA Novosti. A criminal case may be opened against former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban if it turns out that he participated in planning an operation to detain Oschadbank collectors transporting currency and gold to Ukraine in March, the Financial Times reported.

The Hungarian National Tax and Customs Office (NÁV) said on March 6 that it had detained seven Ukrainian citizens on suspicion of money laundering, including a former Ukrainian intelligence general who was responsible for transporting $40 million, 35 million euros and nine kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine. Those detained were deported to Ukraine on the same day. Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar in June ordered an internal investigation into the case and called for the role of Orban and the former head of the Anti-Terrorism Center, Janos Hajdu, in the case.

“The investigation against them (Ukrainian collectors - ed.) has been discontinued and can now lead to the first criminal case against Orban,” the report says.

The newspaper claims to have read the report from the prosecutor's office, which allegedly quotes Hajdu as saying that the decision to detain was made by Orban.