The European Commission (EU) has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to invade Ukraine and has vowed to take a number of steps to isolate Russia from the international economy.
The European Commission has announced that it will remove several Russian banks from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT) messaging system, with the aim of reducing Russia’s ability to handle border payments.
In a joint statement issued by the European Commission, leaders of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States highlighted the shared interest in protecting Ukraine from war with Russia:
“We will consider Russia and collectively confirm that this war is a strategic defeat for Putin.”
The European Commission (EU) has condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin’s move to invade Ukraine and has vowed to take a number of steps to isolate Russia from the international economy.
EU Commission President Ursula von der Lane has announced the removal of several undisclosed Russian banks from the SWIFT messaging system and announced five active actions against Russian officials.
In addition to reducing Russia’s relationship with Swift, the European Union Commission “freezes the assets of the Central Bank of Russia”, creating another financial obstacle for the Russian Central Bank to freeze assets. For the third phase, the EU Commission stated:
“We are committed to limiting the sale of so-called Golden Passports, which will enable affluent Russians affiliated with the Russian government to become citizens of our countries and gain access to our economy.”
The EU Commission will soon launch the transatlantic Task Force, which will effectively enforce all sanctions aimed primarily at freezing foreign assets of Russian officials, celebrities, and their families. As a fifth step, the Commission plans to increase coordination against misinformation and other forms of hybrid warfare.
As global markets continue to impose new economic sanctions on Russia, the subsequent report from February 24 highlights how Russian billionaires can circumvent world leaders’ restrictions on the use of cryptocurrencies.
Now as the Russian banks are likely to be barred from SWIFT’s international financial network, crypto could be crucial in preventing sanctions on wealthy individuals. Mati Greenspan, founder, and CEO of Quantum Economics said:
“If a wealthy person is worried that their accounts will be frozen due to sanctions, they can put their assets in Bitcoin to protect themselves from such activities.”
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