The SWIFT ban is one of several restrictive financial measures targeting Russia — here are others announced at the same time
- Western allies announced new restrictive curbs against Russia in response to the Ukraine invasion.
- The measures were listed in a joint statement published by the European Commission Saturday.
Western allies have levied heavier economic measures against Russia in retaliation for the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Amid the move by the US, EU, UK, Canada, and other Western allies to expel select Russian banks from the SWIFT global banking system, the European Commission announced four additional courses of action.
On Saturday, a joint statement released by the European Commission stated that some Russian banks will be removed from SWIFT in an attempt to "collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin."
Japan confirmed on Sunday that it would also support the move to expel Russia.
Following Japan's announcement, US Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement that she welcomed the country's stance.
SWIFT essentially operates as a global communication system for banks to chat about cross-border transactions. Removing Russia could be economically catastrophic, as Insider's Ben Winck reported.
In the Saturday statement, the Western allies said the move will target "selected Russian banks," in an attempt to "ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally."
The other listed financial measures intend to ensure that the war against Ukraine is a "strategic failure for Putin."
Here's what they include:
Restrictions against the Russian Central Bank
The European Commission statement said that the Western allies will impose restrictive measures to "prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves in ways that undermine the impact of our sanctions."
President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said in a tweet that the sanction will "paralyze the assets of Russia's central bank," "freeze its transactions," and "make it impossible for the Central bank to liquidate its assets."
Curb the sale of "golden passports"
Russia's wealthiest will be targeted through the limitations on "golden passport" citizenship sales. Such passports allow rich individuals to invest in a country in exchange for citizenship.
The statement said: "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."
The launch of a transatlantic task force
The Western allies vowed to initiate a transatlantic force to "ensure the effective implementation of our financial sanctions" against Russia.
This will be done by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies.
The statement added: "We will also engage other governments and work to detect and disrupt the movement of ill-gotten gains, and to deny these individuals the ability to hide their assets in jurisdictions across the world."
Clamp down on disinformation
The last measure said that the Western allies will increase "coordination against disinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare."
All measures intend to isolate Russia from the international financial system and Western economies which will be implemented "within the coming days," according to the statement.