Which countries are banned from SWIFT and why? What does SWIFT refers to? The SWIFT system, which stands for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, is a secure platform that allows financial institutions to share information about worldwide monetary operations such as money transfers. While SWIFT does not actually transport money, it [...]

Economic Sanctions Against Belarus In reaction to Belarus' participation in the ongoing Ukrainian crisis, the EU dramatically strengthened its sanctions against Belarus on March 2, 2022. Belarus was already subject to major EU sanctions targeting its financial, dual-use, military, tobacco, petroleum, and potash industries, many of which were imposed in reaction to social [...]

Belarus Sanctions Regime in USA, EU and UK As part of its first wave of sanctions on Belarus for its role in Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the United Kingdom targeted Belarusian army commanders. The package includes four defense officials and two military enterprises. The Republic of Belarus Sanctions Regime The Republic of Belarus [...]

Russian Sanctions Regime in UK Following Russia's recognition of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent, the United States and the United Kingdom moved quickly to impose further sanctions on Russia in reaction to its alleged worsening of the continuing situation along the Russia-Ukraine border: On February 21, 2022, the United States issued [...]

UK’s Sanctions Against Russia The UK government has imposed sanctions on 370 more Russian and Belarussian persons and organizations. Since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the UK has sanctioned over 1,000 of Russia's and Belarus' most prominent and valuable persons, businesses, and subsidiaries. According to the Foreign Office, Russian President Vladimir [...]

Belarus Sanctions Regime in EU Since October 2020, the EU has gradually tightened sanctions against Belarus. The sanctions were enacted in reaction to Belarus's rigged presidential elections in August 2020. The sanctions regime on Belarus presently designates 183 persons and 26 companies, including major officials in the political leadership and administration, high-level members [...]

Russian Sanctions Regime in USA by OFAC The Ukraine/Russia sanctions program implemented by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) began on March 6, 2014, when the President of the USA declared a national emergency in Executive Order (EO) 13660 against the threat posed by the actions and policies of certain individuals, who [...]

Russian Sanctions Regime in EU What Measures has the EU Taken Against Russia in the last decade? Since 2014, the EU has progressively placed sanctions on Russia in reaction to the unlawful annexation of Crimea. In March 2015, EU leaders resolved to tie the current economic sanctions system to full implementation of the [...]