New information has surfaced in the case of the intercepted Ukrainian cash transport vehicles and the seven Ukrainian nationals who were expelled from Hungary on Friday, 6 March. According to Hungarian outlet Mandiner, one of them was Hennadiy Kuznetsov, a former major general of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), who has been linked to several corruption cases in the past.
Citing Ukrainian investigative journalistic sources, Mandiner wrote that Kuznetsov held senior roles within the SBU’s anti-terrorism structures and had previously been involved in operations during the early stages of the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
His career has also been surrounded by controversy. Ukrainian investigative reports cited by the outlet claim that Kuznetsov was convicted in 2011 by a Kyiv court for misconduct in office and later faced internal disciplinary investigations within the SBU. Despite these controversies, he remained active in state structures and reportedly participated in the humanitarian working group of the Minsk peace process in 2020.
According to Ukrainian anti-corruption media cited in the report, Kuznetsov has also been linked to allegations concerning irregularities in prisoner exchange programmes during the war in eastern Ukraine. These allegations claim that individuals could allegedly pay to be included on prisoner exchange lists, although such claims have not been proven in court.
As Hungarian Conservative reported, Hungarian authorities detained seven Ukrainian nationals on Friday who transported a total of $40 million, €35 million, and 9 kilograms of gold from Austria to Ukraine.
The Hungarian government demanded an immediate response and explanation from Ukraine regarding the cash shipments transported through Hungary. According to Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó, ‘the question legitimately arises whether this money belongs to the Ukrainian war mafia.’ The minister added that since January, Ukrainians have transported a total of $900 million and €420 million in cash through Hungary, as well as 146 kilograms of gold bars.
The seven Ukrainians have since been expelled from the country. Ukrainian authorities have rejected any suggestion of wrongdoing. Kyiv maintains that the convoy was conducting a legitimate banking operation on behalf of the state-owned Oschadbank and described the transport as a routine interbank cash transfer between Austria and Ukraine.
‘All seven members of the group have reportedly been connected at some point in their careers to the Ukrainian military or national security structures’
However, according to media reports and statements from Hungarian authorities, Kuznetsov was far from the only passenger linked to Ukrainian security services or the armed forces. In fact, all seven members of the group have reportedly been connected at some point in their careers to the Ukrainian military or national security structures.
Speculation about the origin of the seized assets has also begun circulating in Ukrainian online commentary. According to Mandiner, some Ukrainian bloggers have suggested the funds could be linked either to European partners or to criminal networks such as international call-centre fraud operations. These claims remain unverified.
While many of the central facts of the case remain disputed, Hungarian authorities continue to investigate the incident as suspected money laundering. Kyiv has also opened criminal proceedings over what the Ukrainian foreign ministry described as the ‘hostage-taking’ of Ukrainian citizens and the ‘abduction’ of an Oschadbank service vehicle in Hungary. ‘The case has been registered under articles on illegal deprivation of liberty/kidnapping and hostage-taking. Ukrainian police have filed official requests to Europol, Hungary’s tax and customs service, and Hungarian police,’ the ministry said in a statement on Friday.
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