by Riccardo Cacelli
London – On Wednesday, Washington sanctioned IIB and its top managers — including a Hungarian citizen — after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government repeatedly dismissed American concerns about its activities.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said in a press release is further curbing Russia’s access to the international financial system through facilitators and their businesses. The United States, in coordination with the United Kingdom, is targeting the facilitation network of Alisher Usmanov, who is subject to sanctions in multiple jurisdictions. Today’s action also includes designations to reinforce existing measures and further disrupt Russia’s importation of critical technologies used in its war against Ukraine. In total, OFAC is designating 25 individuals and 29 entities with touchpoints in 20 jurisdictions. The U.S. Department of State is concurrently designating several entities operating in the defense sector of the Russian Federation economy and entities supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine, as well as additional entities associated with Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation (Rosatom).
The bank, it said, “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.”