OFAC sanctions International Investment Bank over Russian ties

The International Investment Bank (IIB), a multinational development institution headquartered in Hungary, was designated by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) for potentially facilitating the evasion of U.S. sanctions against Russia.

Labeling the IIB as a “Russia-controlled financial institution” in a press release Wednesday, OFAC said it sanctioned the bank “for operating or having operated in the financial services sector of the Russian Federation economy and for being owned or controlled by, or for having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the Government of the Russian Federation.”

OFAC added the bank’s presence in Hungary “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.”