BANK BAN
Western allies including UK agree to boot Russian banks OUT of Swift system over Ukraine invasion in major blow to Putin
WORLD leaders have agreed to cut selected Russian banks out of the Swift banking system.
The UK, the EU and US tonight condemned Putin's "war of choice" and attacks on Ukraine.
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A statement issued by the White House said: "We stand with the Ukrainian government and the Ukrainian people in their heroic efforts to resist Russia's invasion.
"We will hold Russia to account and collectively ensure that this war is a strategic failure for Putin.
"As Russian forces unleash their assault on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities, we are resolved to continue imposing costs on Russia that will further isolate Russia from the international financial system and our economies."
In listing the measures to be implemented in the following days, at the top was ensuring selected Russian banks are removed from the Swift messaging system.
"This will ensure that these banks are disconnected from the international financial system and harm their ability to operate globally."
Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) processes transactions worth trillions of dollars and is used around the world by more than 11,000 banks and financial institutions.
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The move could cause Russia serious economic problems if it struggles to receive payments from outside the country.
The leaders also committed to imposing restrictive measures to prevent the Russian Central Bank from deploying its international reserves and will target people and entities who facilitate the war in Ukraine.
The statement said: "Specifically, 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.
Boris Johnson will rush through emergency laws targeting dirty money held here by Russian oligarchs.
The PM ordered swift action to make it easier for law enforcement to seize property or other assets.
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- 'Hundreds' Russian soldiers have been captured, a Ukrainian MP has claimed.
- A missile slammed into the side of an apartment building, killing two people in Kyiv
- Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refused a US offer to evacuate the Kyiv and vowed to stay and fight
- Defiant Ukrainian soldiers are using UK missiles to fight off Putin's invasion
- A Russian cargo ship was seized in the English Channel for 'violating EU sanctions'
- Western allies agreed to boot Russian banks out of the Swift system
- The Kremlin's official website was downed by hackers
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- The PM vowed to rush through laws to target dirty money funneled through Britain by Russian oligarchs
- Roman Abramovich gave up control of Chelsea football club
He will give agencies new powers to dig into complex financial affairs.
Priti Patel will introduce emergency legislation to Parliament on Tuesday to extend the use of unexplained wealth orders.
The Home Secretary believes it will leave rich Putin cronies and Kremlin-backed money launderers no hiding place here.
It will bring properties held by complex ownership structures into the scope of the law — meaning they can be seized if the owner fails to explain how they were bought.
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