Three Belarusian banks have been excluded from the Swift financial messaging network as the EU imposes further financial sanctions against warring forces in Ukraine.
For Belarus, the measures introduce Swift prohibitions similar to those in the Russia regime, blocking access to Belagroprombank, Bank Dabrabyt, and the Development Bank of the Republic of Belarus, as well as their Belarusian subsidiaries.
Reflecting fears that Russia may attempt to use cryptocurrencies to subvert financial sanctions, the EU confirmed the common understanding that "loans and credit can be provided by any means, including crypto assets".
With this in mind, the bloc has clarified that crypto assets fall under the scope of 'transferable securities' and are subject to the same restrictions already in place for other asset classes.