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LMP TO TURN TO TOP COURT OVER IIB AGREEMENT

 

Opposition LMP is turning to the Constitutional Court over an agreement the government signed with the Russia-based International Investment Bank (IIB) on establishing the bank’s headquarters in Budapest, saying that the pact was unconstitutional and posed a risk to national security and Hungary’s sovereignty. Addressing a press conference in Budapest, lawmaker Márta Demeter said that under a law passed in March, the IIB’s Budapest headquarters is “fully exempt from the supervision of the Hungarian authorities”. “Neither the financial or other regulatory authorities nor the police are permitted to set foot in the institution,” she said. Whereas Hungarian bank clients can only access their accounts after complying with stricter rules on identifying account ownership, the IIB is exempt from complying with Hungarian laws, Demeter said. In return, she insisted, the bank would finance the business activities of certain economic players linked to the government.