Russian “spy bank” leaves Hungary after the US sanctions

Author:
Sofiia Telishevska
Date:

The International Investment Bank (IIB) in Budapest, which fell under US sanctions, announced the closure of its Hungarian headquarters and withdrawal from the EU.

This is stated in a statement published on the institutionʼs website, reports Világgazdaság.

After the introduction of American sanctions, the IIB lost the ability to carry out financial transactions, and due to the termination of Hungaryʼs participation in it, it no longer has grounds for further activities in Budapest and the EU in general.

"The bank has started the relocation of its headquarters from Hungary to Russia," the statement noted.

The Russian-Hungarian International Investment Bank is often called a "spy bank" in Hungary, because its management includes people from the Russian FSB, and the head of the bank Mykola Kosov comes from a family of KGB officers. His father was once a resident of the KGB in Budapest, and his mother was called "one of the most outstanding intelligence officers of the 20th century" by the Russian news agency TASS. Kosov himself, who made a career in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, is also suspected of working for the Russian special services.

The bank, whose headquarters were moved from Moscow to Budapest in 2019, played an important role in Russian-Hungarian relations.