SWIFT: 'NO AUTHORITY' TO SUSPEND RUSSIA, ISRAEL FROM INTL PAYMENTS OVER SANCTIONS (STA BREAKING NEWS and ARCHIVES)

by STANews , Monday, October 06, 2014, 11:04

SWIFT will not bow to pressure to disconnect Russia and Israel from international transactions as it has "no authority" to make unilateral sanctions decisions, the Belgium-based group said Monday.

"SWIFT regrets the pressure, as well as the surrounding media speculation, both of which risk undermining the systemic character of the services that SWIFT provides its customers around the world. As a utility with a systemic global character, it has no authority to make sanctions decisions," the group said in a statement released on Monday.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, is currently one of Russia’s main connections to the international banking system, and if turned off, could hurt Russia's economy, in the short-term.

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http://rt.com/business/193464-no-authority-swift-russia-israel/