Hundreds of Russian banks continue to enjoy SWIFT access
Andriy Melnyk emphasized that disconnecting several Russian banks from SWIFT is not enough (Photo:SWIFT via Facebook)
In an interview with NV Radio on Feb. 1, Andriy Melnyk, Deputy Foreign Minister and the former Ukrainian Ambassador to Germany, has criticized the limited Western approach to disconnecting Russian banks from SWIFT payment system.
“As you know, excluding Russian banks from SWIFT remains limited,” said Melnyk.
“The decision has really affected only a few banks, with hundreds more banks remaining untouched. Dozens of schemes that allow to circumvent these restrictions can't be ruled out, either.”
In March 2022, the EU disconnected seven Russian banks from SWIFT, including Bank Otkritie, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Bank Rossiya, Sovcombank, Vnesheconombank (VEB), and VTB Bank. Three more Russian major banks were added to the list in June: Sberbank, Rosselkhozbank, and Moscow Credit Bank.
However, four out of ten Russian banks that fund Russian defense industry weren't banned from SWIFT, Ukrainian private research organization StateWatch reported in June.
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