Asters successfully represented Oschadbank’s interests in complex cross-border criminal proceedings in Hungary concerning the transportation of cash and precious metals from Austria to Ukraine. Following a comprehensive investigation, the Hungarian law enforcement authorities established the lawful origin of the banknotes and gold bars and found no evidence of a criminal offence. The criminal proceedings were subsequently closed.
The investigation concerned the transit transportation of foreign currency cash and investment gold from Austria to Ukraine through Hungary using Oschadbank’s specialised transport.
The case began in March 2026 and involved an unprecedented range of measures affecting the Bank and its employees.
Seven Oschadbank employees involved in the transporting of the valuables were detained in Hungary, while USD 40 million, EUR 35 million, 9 kg of gold and two armoured cash-in-transit vehicles belonging to the Bank were seized by the Hungarian authorities.
All adverse consequences of these measures taken were subsequently reversed. The Bank’s employees were released the day after their detention. The decisions ordering their expulsion and imposing a three-year ban on their entry into the EU and the Schengen Area were overturned. The armoured vehicles were returned to the Bank, followed by the return in full of all seized funds and gold.
Asters provided comprehensive legal support to Oschadbank throughout the case, coordinating the Bank’s legal position at all stages of the proceedings and its cooperation with Hungarian legal advisers. The team also coordinated the collection and submission of documents confirming the lawful origin of the assets.
The investigation's findings confirmed Oschadbank’s position on the legality of the relevant transactions. The law enforcement authorities established that the funds and precious metals belonged to the Bank and had been acquired through separate interbank transactions. In the absence of evidence of a criminal offence, the proceedings were terminated.
Horvathlawyers acted as legal advisor on Hungarian law issues.
Asters team working on the case included Managing Partner Oleksiy Didkovskiy, Partners Sergiy Grebenyuk and Andriy Pozhidayev, Counsel Orest Stasiuk, Senior Associates Volodymyr Boriak and Volodymyr Tkachenko, Associates Dmytro Dubtsov and Kateryna Travkina.
Oschadbank JSC is a Ukrainian state-owned commercial bank, with 100% of its shares belonging to the state. Serving over 6 million customers, the bank is the second largest in Ukraine by financial assets and manages the country’s most extensive branch network.
Asters is the largest full-service law firm in Ukraine with offices in Kyiv, London and Washington, D.C. The firm has access to over 125 jurisdictions through a well-developed network of partner law firms.
