Former banker Erős János admits lobbying Putin on Raiffeisen deal

Erős János, who led the state-owned Magyar Fejlesztési Bank until 2010, acknowledged that in 2024 he authored a letter to Russian President Vlagyimir Putyin on behalf of Raiffeisen Bank International, which had engaged Hungarian intermediaries to obtain the Kremlin’s consent for acquiring its Russian subsidiary. The correspondence. Erős confirmed the proposal received no reply and the acquisition was ultimately abandoned.

He also clarified that neither Tiborcz István nor representatives of the NER or any EU-based economic entity were consulted, attributing the lack of dialogue to EU sanctions on Russia. Additionally, Erős disclosed a separate agreement to purchase a share package in Gránit Bank that would grant voting rights exceeding his stake, though details of that deal remain pending.