SWIFT will not switch Russia off because of US sanctions

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication SWIFT is not going to switch off Russia because of the sanctions, the Vedomosti newspaper reports citing its own sources.

SWIFT CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt has announced at a business forum that SWIFT is a neutral organization, so it is not going to take any actions.

The management of the system acted the same way in 2914, when the European Parliament recommended to the European Council to switch Russia of the system after accession of Crimea.

Rumors on possible switching off appeared after new sanctions were imposed by the US against Russia. Meanwhile, Gazprom CEO German Gref said the chances of it are very low.

Russia has an analog of SWIFT that was established by the Russian Central Bank in 2014. It allows sending messages in SWIFT format, but inside the country only.