A Preliminary Ruling Has Been Issued in Favor of Oschadbank in the Case Concerning the Protection of Business Reputation Related to the “Hungarian Case”

The Commercial Court of Vienna, Austria, granted Oschadbank’s motion for a preliminary injunction against Boryslav Bereza. The motion was filed at the defendant’s registered place of residence.

Pursuant to the ruling, the defendant is hereby ordered to refrain from making and disseminating statements, particularly on social media, accusing the Bank and its officials in connection with the “Hungarian case,” as well as to remove any existing publications of such statements.

Under the Austrian Civil Code and the Unfair Competition Act, a preliminary injunction is a measure aimed at providing prompt protection of the plaintiff’s rights and preventing the further dissemination of false information. For failure to comply with the preliminary injunction, the defendant may be fined up to EUR 100,000 per violation, payable to the Austrian state budget.

In accordance with the EU Digital Services Act, Facebook and Telegram administrators have been notified of the decision to compel the removal of the earlier posts if the defendant fails to do so in a timely manner.

The next step will be for Oschadbank to file a principal claim for protection of business reputation in general civil proceedings to obtain a final injunction against the dissemination of false information. Within these proceedings, the Bank may be awarded reimbursement of legal costs.

Oschadbank’s interests in the case regarding the protection of business reputation in Austria are represented by Binder Grösswang, an Austrian law firm, with Asters acting as national legal counsel.

Below are some facts about the incident in Hungary:

• the transportation of funds and valuables was carried out under an international agreement between Oschadbank and Raiffeisen Bank International AG. The cargo was documented in accordance with international transport regulations and applicable European customs procedures;
• the packaging of the funds and gold was carried out with full compliance with regulatory and transport requirements;
• Oschadbank holds a valid license for international transportation issued by the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety;
• during a full-scale war, banks transport valuables exclusively overland. Such transportations were carried out on a regular basis;
• the funds transported from Vienna to Ukraine in transit through Hungary belong to Oschadbank. They were headed to Ukraine for further circulation and saturation of the country's cash market;
• The legitimacy of all procedures and processes for the transportation of funds and valuables by Oschadbank is evidenced by the fact that Hungary released the Bank's employees, cash-in-transit vehicles, as well as the funds and valuables involved, with no charges being brought.