Large numbers of suspicious transactions have also been carried out routinely through the Hungarian banking system for years, according to an international investigative project based on secret US bank documents, in which Direkt36 was the Hungarian participant.

In its article 444, the Fact-Finding Center writes that MKB Bank has assured an offshore corporate client involved in suspicious transactions that it will remain hidden from US investigations.

According to the article, the US division of Deutsche Bank noted in 2011 that a Caribbean offshore company called the Guarantee Agency had transferred tens of millions of dollars through them to bank accounts around the world. The bank deemed the transactions so suspicious that it made several reports to the investigation team of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is investigating cases of alleged money laundering, among other things.

Deutsche Bank, for example, found it unusual for a significant proportion of transactions to be round and it was not clear exactly for what purpose. The bank was also visibly concerned that it did not know exactly who was behind the Caribbean company.

The way to find out was through Hungary, but Deutsche Bank encountered obstacles here.

– writes Direkt36.

The Guarantee Agency kept its account at MKB Bank, one of Hungary’s largest financial institutions, but the bank refused to disclose information about the client, the newspaper added. According to Direkt36, this was not the first time Deutsche Bank had viewed the Caribbean company’s transactions as suspicious, and when it had approached MKB on a previous occasion to reveal who owned the Guarantee Agency, it received a negative response.

“We would like to inform you that due to local bank secrecy rules, we are unable to provide further data on our client,” wrote MKB.

This exchange of messages grew out of a package of confidential documents processed by an international team of journalists over the last year and a half. The investigation was based on secret reports sent by US-based banks to the US Department of the Treasury about transactions they suspected, writes Direkt36. The full article can be read by clicking here.



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