RUSSIA’S International Investment Bank (IIB) will relocate its headquarters from Budapest back to Russia, according to a statement published on the bank’s website on Wednesday (Apr 19).

The decision was announced a week after the US imposed sanctions on three top officials of IIB in Budapest: two Russians and a Hungarian. That move led to Hungary’s announcement that it was withdrawing its representatives from the bank and quitting the financial institution.

“IIB has exhausted the basis for further operations from its headquarters in Budapest and in the European Union (EU),” the IIB statement said. “The Bank has commenced a relocation of its operations and functions of its headquarters from Hungary to Russia.”

After Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia ended their participation in the IIB. The Hungarian government took no measures against the bank, which moved its operations to Budapest in 2019.

After announcing that sanctions would be imposed last Wednesday, US Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said IIB “threatens the security and sovereignty of the Hungarian people, their European neighbours, and their Nato allies”.

Hungary, a Nato and EU member, has fostered good ties with Moscow since 2010 under nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has avoided personal criticism of Russian President Vladimir Putin despite condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. His stance has been criticised by US and European allies. REUTERS

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