U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman, who is currently spearheading a hard diplomatic offensive against Hungary with a nationwide billboard campaign meant to undermine the government, has announced new U.S. sanctions leveled against a Budapest-based bank with ties to Moscow along with individuals associated with the bank’s leadership.
Speaking to members of the press in Budapest on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 12th, Pressman relayed information published by the U.S. Treasury Department that announced the imposition of sanctions that will target the International Investment Bank (IIB) and three of its senior officials, Russian citizens Nikolay Kosov and Georgy Potapov, and Imre Laszlóczki, a Hungarian national.
Kosov is the bank’s former board chair while Laszlóczki and Potapov are two current senior management officials. Previously, Imre Laszlóczki served as Hungary’s Ambassador to Azerbaijan. As a career diplomat, he held several positions in Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs beginning in 1987.
Originally established in 1970 to encourage trade within the Warsaw Pact countries, the IIB moved its headquarters from Moscow to Budapest in 2019. The bank is not, however, part of the Hungarian banking system. Today, Hungary is the only European shareholder of the bank, with the Hungarian state owning some 25% of the bank while 50% is owned by the Russian state.
Since 2019, the United States has attempted to persuade the Hungarian government of the danger posed by IBB, Pressman said. “Unlike other NATO allies, the Hungarian government ignored American warnings and stood by the International Investment Bank,” the ambassador added.
Pressman argued: “The presence of this Kremlin-financed platform in Hungary poses a threat to European countries and allies,” claiming that it allows Russia to malignly influence Central Europe and the Western Balkans.
The ambassador, who since arriving in Budapest has used the U.S. Embassy as a vehicle to undermine and antagonize the Hungarian government, insisted, however, that it was not the United States’ desire to see ties with Hungary severed.
“We’re invested in this relationship because we care about Hungary,” he claimed.
The U.S. Treasury Department, in a statement addressing the new sanctions, wrote:
The IIB’s presence in Budapest enables Russia to increase its intelligence presence in Europe, opens the door for the Kremlin’s malign influence activities in Central Europe and the Western Balkans, and could serve as a mechanism for corruption and illicit finance, including sanctions violations.
The punitive measures targeting the bank and its senior officials came as a part of a new sanctions package imposed by the U.S. against more than 120 organizations and individuals in more than 20 countries.
The press conference is said to have lasted a total of 10 minutes. Pressman left after three questions.
