After the spy bank, another mysterious Russian organisation appeared in Budapest
In the fifth district of the Hungarian capital, a Russian institute, IRIAS, has emerged. The organisation enjoys special privileges just like the Russian spy bank.
Another privileged Russian institute
The International Investment Bank moves its headquarters from Budapest to Russia. This follows Hungary’s withdrawal from the organisation, known as the spy bank, which enjoys diplomatic immunity, as the United States of America imposed sanctions on the institution’s leaders.
But now another institute with a Russian background has come to Budapest. The Russian IRIAS organisation was registered in Hungary after the war in Ukraine broke out. Its headquarters are on the first floor of a multi-storey apartment building. The lower floor of the building sells food products, run by Igor Kaplan, who once did military service in Hungary.
The Hungarian managing director of IRIAS, Bernadett Deák from Debrecen, did reply to the inquiries of 24.hu. Public company records reveal little information. Its main profile is given as “other community and social activities not elsewhere classified”. Other activities include publishing and news agency activities, technical research and development, beverage service and fuel wholesaling.
Not only is it unknown what the organisation does, but also who finances its operations in Hungary, rtl.hu reports. This is particularly important because the flow of money between Russian banks and the EU has been made virtually impossible by the sanctions.
The IRIAS past
IRIAS was established in 1976 by the socialist bloc countries, including Hungary, Bulgaria, Cuba, Poland, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia.
The organisation enjoys privileges under an agreement signed in 1980. For this reason, the organisation and its documents are inviolable. Its assets are immune from any administrative or judicial interference. In addition, the premises of IRIAS are exempt from national and local taxes and duties, and the Institute is exempt from customs duties and export-import restrictions for official use.
This gives IRIAS privileges similar to those of the Russian spy bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development or the International Monetary Fund.
According to the website of the Moscow-based organisation, IRIAS is active. Five of the founding countries are still members – Russia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Cuba and Mongolia.
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5 Comments
Sound like its time for a new IRIAS agreement with no special privileges.
Op hun website staan EADS (European Aeronautical Defense and Space Company) ,Siemens,Airbus, Globethics als partners om er maar enkele te noemen!
Is het niet merkwaardig dat EADS partner is? Misschien moest Daily News eens wat dieper graven in de actuele stand van zaken van IRIAS en de op zijn minst merkwaardige partners??!!
International agreements, again – where we (Hungary) assumes obligations.
http://mniipu.org/en/management-history/
So to answer Hugo’s question – there was cooperation in the past, and not in any way strange given it’s stated activity and how the Russian Federation emerged from the ashes of the Soviet Union.
However, with Russia attacking it’s neighbor and everything that has happened since, I very much doubt there’s any current cooperation. At all. Regardless of what a website says.
Which does beg the question – what is IRIAS currently doing?
Beste Norbert,dan zijn het Westen en de VS op kop hypocriet!? Waarom flikkeren ze dan de Russen niet uit ISS? Gewoon omdat de Russen ervoor zorgen dat ISS in de correcte baan blijft draaien?!
@Hugo – if life were only so simple. Some relationships are very complex and difficult to untangle.
Latest news:
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2023-04-25/nasa-chief-sees-russians-and-americans-together-on-space-station-through-2030