If the United States decided to levy sanctions on Russian banks, it could then say that Swift was in violation of those sanctions by continuing to let those banks use its system. The Defending Ukraine Sovereignty Act of 2022 that Senate Democrats unveiled this month would authorize sanctions on providers of specialized financial messaging services, such as Swift, but the Biden administration could also impose such sanctions without the approval of Congress.
Cutting a country’s access to Swift is not without precedent.
In 2012, Swift expelled as many as 30 Iranian financial institutions, including its central bank, in order to comply with European Union sanctions that were enacted in response to Iran’s disputed nuclear energy program. Services were reconnected after the 2015 nuclear deal, and then cut again in 2018 after the Trump administration withdrew from the pact and resumed sanctions.
How would Russia respond to being removed?
Russia has faced such threats before. In 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, there were calls in Europe to exclude Russia from Swift. Dmitri A. Medvedev, then Russia’s prime minister, said at the time that such a move would be a “declaration of war.” According to the Carnegie Moscow Center, Russian forecasts at the time projected that being cut off from Swift would shrink the country’s gross domestic product by 5 percent.
Last week, Nikolay Zhuravlev, the vice speaker of Russia’s Federation Council, told the government-run news agency TASS that removing Russia from Swift would also have economic consequences for European countries, which he said would not be able to receive imports of Russian oil, gas and metals as a result of Russia being unable to receive foreign currency.
Mr. Smith, the former Treasury official, said the United States and Europe might look for ways to exempt certain Russian sectors, such as energy, from sanctions. However, moves to cut off Russia’s economy could have unintended consequences, such as Moscow retaliating, that could rattle global markets.
“They are not without their own cards to play,” he said.
A switch to Swift alternatives
The threat of being cut off from Swift might not be as dire as it was in the past.
Several countries including Russia have developed their own financial messaging systems that, while less sophisticated than Swift, could allow Russian financial firms to maintain communications with the world. Russia began developing its system in 2014 amid threats of escalating sanctions from the United States.
