Ukraine Removes Hungary’s OTP From Blacklist to Access EU Aid
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2023-09-30 18:19
Ukraine took OTP Bank, Hungary’s largest lender, off its list of “international sponsors of war” in an effort

Ukraine took OTP Bank, Hungary’s largest lender, off its list of “international sponsors of war” in an effort to unlock military aid from the European Union, a move that had been demanded by Budapest.

The Ukrainian National Agency on Corruption Prevention also removed five Greek shipping companies from the list, according to a statement on its website.

The moves followed “negotiations between the agency’s representatives and representatives of companies and governments in these countries” to terminate cooperation Russia, the Kyiv-based agency said.

“The agency hopes that this decision will lead to Hungary’s unblocking of €500 million ($529 million) of vital EU military aid” and eliminate the possibility of Greece blocking a future EU sanctions package aimed at Russia.

Read more: Orban Says Ukraine Can’t Win War as He Justifies Veto on Aid

The agency created the “sponsors of war” list after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as a way to pressure on companies that continue to operate in Russia. One of the list’s “levers” is cooperation with the World-Check database, which is used by banks and insurance companies to assess risk. Chinese companies currently dominate, followed by the US; the companies named include Xiaomi Corp, Mondelez Internatonal Inc, Unilever Plc, Pepsico Inc andRaiffeisen Bank International AG.

The agency added OTP bank to the list in May, spurring a strong response from Hungary, which immediately said it would block the EU’s military aid.

OTP maintains business in Russia and Ukraine but it has said that a presidential decree is preventing it from selling its Russian unit. It has rejected claims of supporting Russia’s war and has publicly backed Ukraine.

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