Hungarian Bank Classified as “International War Sponsor”, 5 May 2023

Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Agency (NAZK) has placed Hungary’s OTP Bank Group on its list of “international war sponsors” for its continued cooperation with Russia, the agency’s press service reported...

In a press release, NAZK explained its decision by saying that the Hungarian bank continues to operate in Russia and is acting under the provisions of a lending law whose subjects are the Russian authorities in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts. According to the NACC, OTP provides loans to members of the Russian army on “favourable terms“, including the possibility of deferring payments when repaying loans...

The OTP Group operates in compliance with all international sanctions and local laws in all its markets, including Russia. The OTP Bank’s head of communications told MTI...

OTP Group is considering all strategic options for the bank’s future, including a sale. In 2022, OTP asked the international consultancy Rothschild to find a buyer for the bank, but the legal conditions for the sale were made impossible by the Russian presidential decree issued in the meantime, he added...