Free Republic

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a Hungary-based bank linked to Russia, marking a new low point in Hungary’s relationship with Washington. The U.S. Treasury Department announced the penalties, which will target the International Investment Bank (IIB), a controversial institution located in Budapest with ties to the Russian state. The bank’s presence in Hungary has drawn the ire of Western officials, who fear it could be used for Russian intelligence operations inside Europe. Speaking to reporters in Budapest on Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Ambassador to Hungary David Pressman said Washington had repeatedly shared information with Hungarian counterparts about how...

Few Americans fully realize the broad reach the Department of the Treasury uses to monitor international banking transactions. What’s even more opaque is how federal authorities also capture private information that is often disclosed to foreign governments, ones that do not have the same respect for privacy rights as we do in the U.S.Imagine the temptation for those strongarm leaders who are given the data. They can use that information to execute domestic goals that have zero to do with stopping illegal financial transactions but instead intimidate, even bankrupt businesses and advocacy groups that differ with that government’s agenda.If crafting...