Russian Banks Cut From SWIFT Payments System
Source: Kaitlan Collins, Phil Mattingly, Kevin Liptak and Donald Judd, CNN.com, February 28, 2022
Targeting the central bank would strike at the heart of Putin’s years long efforts to insulate his economy from sanctions.
(CNN)The White House, along with the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and Canada, announced Saturday evening that they would expel certain Russian banks from SWIFT, the high-security network that connects thousands of financial institutions around the world, pledging to “collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for (Russian President Vladimir) Putin.”
“This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally,” they wrote in a joint statement released by the White House, also pledging “restrictive measures that will prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions,” and restricting the sale of “golden passports” that allow Russian oligarchs to avoid the brunt of sanctions already levied.