Provide loans to the occupiers: The NACP included OTP Bank in the list of international war sponsors
The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) included the Hungarian OTP Bank in the list of international war sponsors. This decision was made due to the position of the bank’s management to continue operations in Russia and the actual recognition of the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics”.
OTP Bank forms the basis of the international financial group OTP (OTP Group), which is one of the leaders of the financial services market in Central and Eastern Europe according to the data of the Budapest Stock Exchange. OTP Bank has subsidiary banks in Russia, Ukraine, Croatia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Montenegro and Romania.
OTP is among the 50 largest banks in Russia, and in a number of areas it is among the market leaders. It serves more than 2.2 million customers and is represented in more than 1,850 population centers of the terrorist state, underscoring its importance to Russia’s economy, which is struggling with and trying to circumvent Western sanctions.
The specified bank occupies the 2nd place in the market of POS lending (provision of loans at points of sale of goods) with a share of this market of 15.3%. The bank also ranks eighth in Russia on the credit card market.
Russian OTP Bank remains one of the leading banks in the Russian market of financial services even after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Thus, according to OTP Group’s reporting for 2021, the Russian bank’s net profit amounted to HUF 37.6 billion, or 7.6% of the group’s total profit.
According to available information on financial results, the Russian OTP Bank received 113 million rubles in profit in 2020 and paid a colossal amount to the budget of the aggressor country – about 190 million rubles in income tax alone.
Importantly. As it became known from the mass media, the bank also provides preferential loan conditions to the Russian military.
Thus, it is noted that Russians called up for military service by mobilization or under contract, as well as their families, can apply for deferment of payments on credits and loans. At the same time, the banks refer to the Law of the Russian Federation No. 377-FZ of October 7, 2022, actually recognizing the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk “people’s republics”.
Thus, by continuing the financial operations of the Russian unit, OTP Group clearly demonstrates support and sponsorship of terrorism.
OTP Bank is already the 24th company that NACP included in the list of international war sponsors. Inclusion on this list is a powerful reputational tool, as such companies are included in World-Check, a database of high-risk individuals and organizations used worldwide to identify and manage financial, regulatory and reputational risks. Interaction with the World-Check database helps to protect the international financial sector from Russian war sponsors, cooperation with which is dangerous for socially responsible business.
The role of NACP in sanctions policy is defined in the Individual Sanctions Roadmap developed by the Stanford International Working Group on Russian Sanctions.
