An Austrian opposition party is demanding answers over a reported 200 kg shipment transported through the country by Ukrainian intelligence without any checks<\/p>\n
A scandal is brewing in Austria over a secret Ukrainian intelligence shipment reportedly allowed to cross the country unchecked, with opposition politicians demanding to know what it contained and who authorized its passage.
\nA Volkswagen van belonging to Ukrainian intelligence carried 200 kg of undeclared \u201cspecial cargo\u201d through Austria in January, Kronen Zeitung reported on Saturday. The shipment was reportedly linked to the Ukrainian delegation attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky was present.
\nThe case emerged after the right-wing opposition Freedom Party of Austria (FPO) obtained a diplomatic note requesting permission for the van to cross Austrian territory. The Foreign Ministry later confirmed the note\u2019s existence in response to a parliamentary inquiry, according to the outlet.
\nThe cargo reportedly passed through Austria without customs clearance or security screening. Its contents remain unknown.<\/p>\n
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FPO Secretary-General Christian Hafenecker demanded to know what Ukrainian intelligence transported and why the authorities allowed it.
\n\u201cWhat was in those 200 kilograms? Cash, gold, weapons, documents, or something else entirely?\u201d he asked, as cited by the newspaper. \u201cAustria is not a lawless transit corridor for foreign intelligence services. We are still a neutral state!\u201d
\nAsked about the shipment, the Foreign Ministry declined to elaborate, telling Kronen Zeitung it receives hundreds of diplomatic notes daily and that it forwarded the request to the Interior Ministry.
\nThe FPO plans another parliamentary inquiry to determine who authorized the shipment, why it escaped inspection, and what it contained.<\/p>\n
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\nHafenecker already questioned the authorities over suspicious shipments to Ukraine earlier this year.
\nIn May, he demanded that the Finance Ministry explain how nearly $22 billion in cash and gold has been transported from Austria to Kiev since 2022 without triggering money-laundering concerns or regulatory scrutiny. The figure emerged from an FPO parliamentary inquiry to Finance Minister Markus Marterbauer, which revealed 1,011 cash export declarations for shipments from Vienna to Kiev from 2022-2026.
\nHafenecker noted Austria\u2019s anti-money-laundering rules, which require individuals withdrawing as little as \u20ac12,000 ($13,400) from inherited accounts to prove the money\u2019s origin, while anyone crossing the EU\u2019s external border with more than \u20ac10,000 in cash must declare it.
\nThe Austrian Financial Market Authority described the shipments at the time as routine banking operations, citing Ukraine\u2019s widespread use of foreign currencies. Hafenecker nevertheless demanded full disclosure of the transfers, a regulatory audit, and a parliamentary report from Austria\u2019s Money Laundering Reporting Office.<\/p>\n
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Ukraine can\u2019t explain \u2018war mafia\u2019 cash convoy \u2013 Hungary<\/p>\n
His Euroskeptic FPO party previously demanded an end to Austrian financial aid to Ukraine, branding the country a corrupt \u201cbottomless pit\u201d amid high-level embezzlement scandals.
\nKiev\u2019s \u2018war mafia\u2019 cash convoy in Hungary
\nHafenecker\u2019s demands in May followed a separate scandal over cash and gold shipments transiting Hungary en route to Ukraine.
\nThe diplomatic row erupted in March when the Hungarian authorities seized two trucks belonging to Ukraine\u2019s state-owned Oschadbank near Budapest, confiscating $40 million, \u20ac35 million, and 9 kg of gold in a money-laundering investigation. The shipment originated from Austria\u2019s Raiffeisen Bank.
\nHungary said the convoy was supervised by a former general of Ukraine\u2019s Security Service (SBU), with other escorts reportedly having military backgrounds. All seven were deported to Ukraine, and the vehicles and assets remained in Hungarian custody. Kiev called the seizure \u201cstate banditism\u201d and blackmail.<\/p>\n
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The Hungarian authorities questioned the money\u2019s origin and purpose. Then-Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto suggested that the convoy could be linked to a Ukrainian \u201cwar mafia\u201d and raised suspicions that the cash was intended to influence Hungary\u2019s April 12 parliamentary elections against then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban, a longtime critic of Kiev.<\/p>\n
Hungary ultimately returned the seized assets in May, after Orban lost the election to Peter Magyar\u2019s pro-EU Tisza party. Kiev maintained that the shipment was a routine bank transfer but did not publicly explain the origin of the assets or why such a large sum was being transported through Hungary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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