EU countries and the United States agreed to disconnect Russian banks that fell under sanctions from SWIFT and freeze the assets of the Central Bank – Rosbalt

The leaders of the European Commission, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada and the US have agreed to exclude certain Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system. The text of the statement is available on the website of the US government.

In particular, it notes that this measure will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and will damage their ability to operate in the international arena.

Also, restrictive measures will be introduced against the Central Bank of Russia – it will not be allowed to use international reserves. This move is aimed at preventing actions that could soften the effect of Western sanctions already adopted.

The EU countries also pledge to take measures to limit the sale of citizenship – the so-called “golden passports” – which allow wealthy Russians associated with the Russian government to become citizens of EU states and gain access to their financial systems.

The parties also agree to establish a transatlantic task force that will ensure the effective application of financial sanctions by identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies.

“As part of these efforts, we are committed to sanctioning and other financial and enforcement measures against additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families and their associates, to identify and freeze assets they hold in our jurisdictions. We will also engage other governments and work to identify and stop the movement of illicit proceeds and make it impossible for these individuals to hide their assets in jurisdictions around the world,” the statement said.

Recall that Russian banks, including Sberbank, VTB, Novikombank, FC Otkritie and Sovcombank, were subject to sanctions.