Hungary to pull out of Russia-linked bank after US sanctions

By JUSTIN SPIKE
Associated Press

BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) — Hungary is withdrawing its membership in a Russia-controlled investment bank a day after the United States issued sanctions against the Budapest-based financial institution. The decision, announced on Thursday by Hungary’s Ministry of Economic Development, came in response to the U.S. Treasury Department placing sanctions on the International Investment Bank, which relocated its headquarters to Hungary’s capital from Moscow in 2019. In a statement, the ministry said that the U.S. sanctions had “rendered the bank’s operations meaningless,” and Hungary would withdraw its delegates. Hungary’s stake in the bank and its location in Budapest had led to frustration from U.S. officials who argued it could serve as a conduit for Russian espionage within the European Union and NATO.