EU and G7 countries believe that Russia is using its SWIFT analogue to purchase sanctioned products. Now they want to introduce and are studying sanctions against banks that use the PESA. Bloomberg writes about this.
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The new package of sanctions against the Russian Federation, among other things, may contain restrictions against banks using the Bank of Russia’s Financial Message Transmission System (SPFS), the Russian analogue of SWIFT.
For now, this issue is only under discussion, but Western countries can take their own measures. According to the publication, the G7 has “long considered it its top priority” to prevent Russia from obtaining key technologies that it can use to improve the defense industry. Only in the Russian Federation are many Western restrictions still circumvented, and friendly countries also help in this.
The PESA, as Bloomberg clarifies, according to the EU, is actively used to circumvent sanctions. Use of the Russian system tripled in 2023 compared to 2022. It is used by more than 500 banks and companies in 20 countries, including China, Belarus, Armenia, Tajikistan and Kazakhstan.
The PESA was created in 2014 to “reduce external risks and ensure uninterrupted services for the transmission of financial messages.”
We previously wrote that the three largest banks in China stopped accepting payments from the Russian Federation. This happens regardless of the interbank transfer system used: SWIFT, Russian SPFS or Chinese CIPS.
Author:
Nikolai Tikhonov
Source: RB
I am a professional journalist and content creator with extensive experience writing for news websites. I currently work as an author at Gadget Onus, where I specialize in covering hot news topics. My written pieces have been published on some of the biggest media outlets around the world, including The Guardian and BBC News.
