Sanctions against Russia
19 Commons Library Research Briefing, 22 March 2023
On 16 June the Government announced that a further four Colonels from the
64
th
Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, a unit known to have committed crimes
against civilians in Bucha, have been added to the sanctions list.
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At the beginning of December 2022, Colonel Ramil Ibatullin, the Commander
of Russia's 90
th
tank division which has been on the Ukrainian frontline since
the invasion began, was also sanctioned.
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On 13 December, a further twelve senior Russian commanders were also
sanctioned for their role in the missile and drone strikes against Ukrainian
cities and critical national infrastructure. As winter approaches, millions of
Ukrainian civilians have been left without access to electricity, water and
heat.
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Financial sanctions
Exclusion from SWIFT
One measure the Government has been consistently supportive of is Russia's
exclusion from the SWIFT international payments system and confirmed the
UK was "working with allies to exclude Russia".
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Press release, 16 June 2022 and HM Treasury,
Financial Sanctions Notice, 16 June 2022
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Press release, 9 December 2022 and HM Treasury,
Financial Sanctions Notice (PDF), 9 December 2022
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Press release, 13 December 2022 and HM
Treasury, Financial Sanctions Notice (PDF), 13 December 2022
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Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Press release, 24 February 2022
3 What is SWIFT?
The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) is a
service that facilitates secure messaging between banks and other financial
institutions. This enables financial institutions to perform transactions such as
payments and settling trades between themselves. However, it is not, in itself,
a payments or settlement system.
Swift is used by more than 11,000 institutions in more than 200 countries and
territories around the world. Each bank has its own unique SWIFT code. Swift
said that in 2021, it recorded an average of 42 million messages per day.
The organisation is a cooperative society under Belgian law and
its headquarters are in La Hulpe, outside Brussels. As a cooperative, it is owned
by its members.
House of Lords Library, Ukraine sanctions and the Swift system, 1 March 2022
