European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during a speech earlier this Saturday night (26) that selected Russian banks have been excluded from the global payments system, Swift. The move is in retaliation for the government of President Vladimir Putin, which this week launched an invasion of Ukraine.
“We are going to paralyze the assets of the Central Bank of Russia. This will freeze transactions and will make it impossible for the Central Bank to liquidate assets. And finally, we are going to ban Russian oligarchs from using their financial resources in their markets,” von der Leyen said.
The commission representative added that “all these measures must damage Putin’s ability to finance his war” and that “they will also have and will have an erosive impact on his economy”. “Putin has embraced a path to destroy Ukraine, but what he’s actually doing is destroying the future of his own country,” she concluded.
“First, we are committed to ensuring that selected Russian banks are removed from the Swift messaging system. This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and undermine their ability to operate globally.”
The second measure announced by the group was the imposition of a restriction that will prevent the Central Bank of Russia from using its international reserves in a way that undermines the impact of sanctions.
“Third, we pledge to act against the persons and entities that facilitate the war in Ukraine and the harmful activities of the Russian government,” the statement added.
Finally, the leaders of Europe and the United States assured that next week they will launch a task force that will ensure the implementation of financial sanctions, identifying and freezing the assets of sanctioned individuals and companies. “As part of this effort, we are committed to employing sanctions and other financial and enforcement measures against additional Russian officials and elites close to the Russian government, as well as their families and their enablers to identify and freeze the assets they hold in our jurisdictions.”
Source: CNN Brasil

I am Sophia william, author of World Stock Market. I have a degree in journalism from the University of Missouri and I have worked as a reporter for several news websites. I have a passion for writing and informing people about the latest news and events happening in the world. I strive to be accurate and unbiased in my reporting, and I hope to provide readers with valuable information that they can use to make informed decisions.