EU Commission to Ban Russian Banks From SWIFT Cross-border Network

• The EU Commission has agreed to implement a range of steps to isolate Russia.
• There will be a transatlantic group to guarantee that all sanctions are implemented.

Several Russian banks have been removed from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) messaging system by the European Commission to limit Russia’s ability to make cross-border payments.

A joint statement issued by the European Commission emphasized the common goal of protecting Ukraine from Russia’s military aggression. The EU Commission has agreed to implement a range of steps to isolate Russia from the international financial system while denouncing Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine.

Aggressive Steps Against Russia

Von der Leyen announced five aggressive steps against Russian authorities, beginning with the expulsion of an unknown number of Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system. Von der Leyen was the EU Commission’s President at the time.

With the EU Commission disconnecting Russia’s SWIFT links and “paralyze the assets of Russia’s central bank,” a new financial barrier for Russia’s central bank’s asset sales will be built.

EU Commission stated:

“We commit to taking measures to limit the sale of citizenship— so-called golden passports—that let wealthy Russians connected to the Russian government become citizens of our countries and gain access to our financial systems.”

There will be a transatlantic task group to guarantee that all sanctions are implemented, with the primary goal of freezing Russia’s politicians, elites, and their family members’ offshore assets. For the fifth and final action, the Commission intends on increasing cooperation against misinformation and other types of hybrid warfare. According to experts, Russian millionaires may be able to avoid any penalties imposed by the world leaders by adopting cryptocurrencies.