US and Europe Exclude Russia from SWIFT... Announce Additional Sanctions for Ukraine Invasion (Update)

Image source=Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] On the 26th (local time), the United States and other Western countries announced additional sanctions excluding Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) payment network in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The United States, France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Canada jointly stated, "We condemn Russia for choosing war and attacking Ukraine's sovereignty," and criticized, "Russia's acts of war are a fundamental attack on international law that has continued since World War II."

These countries emphasized, "As Russian forces attack Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, and other cities, we have decided to isolate Russia from international finance," adding, "These measures will be implemented soon."

As part of this measure, some selected Russian banks will be completely excluded from the SWIFT payment network, and access to the Russian Central Bank's international reserves will also be restricted.

SWIFT is a highly secure computerized network used by over 11,000 financial institutions worldwide to safely send and receive payment orders. Being expelled from this network means Russia will be unable to receive export payments, making it one of the most powerful economic sanctions.

In particular, in the United States, there have been consistent demands to exclude Russia from SWIFT, but due to opposition from some European countries including Germany, it was not included in the initial sanctions. Also, if sanctions on the Russian Central Bank are implemented, access to reserves estimated at $643 billion (approximately 774.5 trillion KRW) will be restricted, which could directly impact Russia's finances.

Along with this, the so-called "golden passport" sales, which issue citizenship to foreigners who invest a certain amount, will also be restricted for Russians. The statement explained that this measure aims to prevent Russian oligarchs connected to the Russian government from acquiring Western citizenship and accessing the financial system.

Next week, a trans-Atlantic task force will be formed to review the sanction situation and identify and freeze assets of sanctioned institutions and individuals within the region.

Previously, Western countries including the United States have been making every effort to prevent further invasion by announcing successive financial and export regulatory measures since Russia's invasion of Ukraine intensified. The day before, sanctions were also announced against key individuals including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.