BREAKING: The US, EU and UK have agreed to block selected Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial messaging system and to impose restrictions on its central bank in retaliation for its invasion of Ukraine.
The U.S. has succeeded before in persuading the Belgium-based SWIFT system to kick out a country — Iran, over its nuclear program. But kicking Russia out of SWIFT would also hurt other economies, including those of the U.S. and key ally Germany.
Announcing the measures in Brussels, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said would push the bloc also to “paralyze the assets of Russia’s Central bank” so that its transactions would be frozen. Cutting several commercial banks from SWIFT “will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” she added.
Getting the EU on board for sanctioning Russia through SWIFT had been a tough process since EU trade with Russia amounted to 80 billion euros, about 10 times as much as the United States, which had been an early proponent of such measures. The group also announced the formation this week of a transatlantic task force to ensure that these and other sanctions on Russia are implemented effectively through information sharing and asset freezes.
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