The Office of the Prosecutor General will investigate every aspect of the gold convoy case and make the findings public, the Office stated in a Wednesday press release, after Prime Minister Péter Magyar said, “The Prosecutor General must speak out on this matter without delay!”, reported hirado.hu. While the investigation’s main objective is most likely to be a targeted witch-hunt against officials of the former Orbán government, there is little doubt that the initiative has its origins in Kyiv.
The Office of the Prosecutor General will take all necessary measures on an expedited basis in accordance with applicable laws and will strive to fully uncover the circumstances of the case, on which it will provide detailed information.
They noted that the Constitution Protection Office filed a complaint with the Office of the Prosecutor General on March 4. The contents of the complaint established a prima facie case of money laundering, thus on March 5, the Office of the Prosecutor General forwarded the complaint to the Criminal Directorate General of the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) for further action and, in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act, designated the National Tax and Customs Administration (NAV) as the investigating authority, which ordered the investigation.
The operation took place after that; the Office of the Prosecutor General was not aware of it and only learned of it afterward,”
the statement reads.
There was reasonable suspicion of money laundering based on the available information, and the designation complied with the Criminal Procedure Act. The investigation conducted by NAV is ongoing. At the same time, proceedings are underway at the Central Chief Prosecution Office of Investigation regarding the arrest of those involved in the operation and other related circumstances, on charges of unlawful detention and other criminal offenses.
The prosecutor general has repeatedly stated, and has also issued written instructions to that effect, that the investigative prosecutor’s office must examine every aspect of the case, regardless of who or which organizations are involved. The non-public phase of the investigation is part of the criminal proceedings. The various versions and speculations circulating about the case do not help clarify the situation, but may hinder the investigation, they stated.
Substantive results from the prosecutor’s investigation are expected in the near future, and the prosecutor’s office will provide detailed information on them, according to a statement from the Office of the Prosecutor General.
Prime Minister Péter Magyar announced on his Facebook page Wednesday morning that the government had ordered an investigation at the National Tax and Customs Administration, the Counter-Terrorism Center (TEK), and the relevant agencies involved in the gold convoy case.
As it was reported on March 5, TEK detained seven Ukrainian citizens and seized gold and foreign currency worth more than 27 billion forints (77 million euros) from their vehicles.
The chief prosecutor must speak out on this matter without delay!”
– the prime minister wrote on his social media page.
The gold convoy was a Ukrainian shipment of cash and gold that was traveling through Hungary in March on its way from Austria to Ukraine, but Hungarian intelligence services stopped it, took the escorts into custody, and seized the shipment. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on May 6 that Hungary had returned the seized cash and gold to Ukraine.
Numerous legal proceedings have been initiated in connection with the case.
Via hirado.hu; Featured image: MTI/Magyarország Kormánya
