Hungary says it will expel seven Ukrainian bank workers arrested while transporting $80m in cash and 9kg of gold through Hungary toward Ukraine, after detaining them on suspicion of money laundering and seizing the shipment. The detentions unfolded alongside Hungary’s stated intent to use “political and financial tools” to pressure Ukraine over Russian oil transit and its blocking of a €90bn EU aid package. The immediate consequence is a deepening diplomatic rupture in which law-enforcement action, election politics, and energy leverage are entangled, with the seized assets’ status still unclear.