Russia bans SWIFT

Banks have been ordered to use the country’s domestic financial messaging systems for transactions

The Bank of Russia has forbidden Russian financial institutions to use the SWIFT messaging system for transactions inside the country, the regulator announced on Monday.

Starting from October, Russian banks will be obliged to only use domestic services for transferring messages on financial transactions. The use of SWIFT will be allowed only for international payments.

“This will ensure reliability, continuity and security of data exchange when conducting intra-Russian transactions,” the regulator said in a statement.

Information on such transactions will now need to be transmitted through the Bank of Russia’s own banking systems, services of third-party Russian companies, or through the Bank of Russia’s own financial messaging system, SPFS.

The SPFS was created by the regulator in 2018 as a substitute for SWIFT on the domestic market. While its coverage is still much smaller than that of SWIFT – which boasts 11,000 financial organizations globally – the spread of SPFS has been gaining momentum in recent months. In February, the Russian Central Bank announced that SPFS now has 469 participants, including 115 foreign entities from 14 nations.

Russia was forced to start seeking alternatives to SWIFT in dealing with foreign partners last year, after some of the country’s largest banks were disconnected from the system as part of Western sanctions.

At present, ten Russian banks are disconnected from SWIFT, including Sberbank, VTB, Otkrytie, Rosselkhozbank, Novikombank, Promsvyazbank, Rossiya, Sovcombank, VEB.RF, and MKB. Banks which have not been disconnected but are under blocking sanctions from Western countries may also face difficulties using the system.

https://www.rt.com/business/573298-russia-bans-swift-use/

House Judiciary Committee Demands Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg Hand Over Documents and Testify Regarding Possible Donald Trump Indictment

The House Judiciary Committee is ordering far-left Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to hand over communications, documents, and testimony that Bragg is allegedly planning to use to indict former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) sent the letter Monday morning demanding Bragg’s cooperation. Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Bryan Steil (R-WI) also signed the letter.

As Gateway Pundit readers know, Trump announced that expects to be arrested Tuesday on specious misdemeanor charges related to an alleged affair with porn star Stormy Daniels. He is accused of providing $130,000 in 2016 to his disgraced former lawyer Michael Cohen, who then allegedly passed the money on as hush money to Daniels.

There is is still one more witness that must testify before any indictment and arrest of Trump can happen, however. Trump expects that this witness, former Rudy Giuliani lawyer Robert Costello, will ultimately clear him of wrongdoing.

Fox News has more on the Jordan letter to Bragg:

Jordan warned Bragg that if news reports of a possible Trump indictment are accurate, Bragg’s actions “will erode confidence in the evenhanded application of justice and unalterably interfere in the court of the 2024 presidential election.”

“In light of the serious consequences of your actions, we expect that you will testify about what plainly appears to be a politically motivated prosecutorial decision,” Jordan wrote.

“The legal theory underlying your reported prosecution appears to be tenuous and untested,” Jordan wrote.

The statute of limitations on a matter of “falsifying business records,” which Jordan said “would ordinarily be a misdemeanor subject to a two-year statute of limitations,” would have “expired long ago.”

Jordan said that the five-year statute “would likely expire soon and thus explains your rush to indictment.”

Jordan also slammed who he called Bragg’s “star witness,” Michael Cohen.

“In addition to the novel and untested legal theory, your star witness for this prosecution has a serious credibility problem—a problem that you have reportedly recognized,” Jordan wrote. “This case relies heavily on the testimony of Michael Cohen, a convicted perjurer with a demonstrable prejudice against President Trump.”

Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison in 2018 after pleading guilty to federal charges, including lying to Congress, as well as campaign-finance violations and tax evasion.

“In 2019, when he testified before Democrats on the House Oversight Committee to aid their fruitless investigation into President Trump, Cohen lied again—six times,” Jordan said, adding that Cohen “has been vocal about his deeply personal animus toward President Trump.”

Jordan maintained that “the facts of this matter have not changed since 2018 and no new witnesses have emerged.”

“The only intervening factor, it appears, was President Trump’s announcement that he would be a candidate for President in 2024,” Jordan wrote.

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/house-judiciary-committee-demands-manhattan-da-alvin-bragg-hand-over-documents-and-testify-regarding-possible-donald-trump-indictment/

“We Won’t Accept a Ceasefire” – NSC Communications Director John Kirby Says War Should Continue Because a Ceasefire Would Favor Putin

National Security Council (NSC) Strategic Communications Director John Kirby joined ‘Fox News Sunday’ to discuss the growing relationship between China and Russia.

Kirby talked about the planned visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Moscow on Monday for a three-day state visit. The two powers will discuss the War in Ukraine, strengthening ties, and the emerging global world order.

The two are expected to announce solidarity against Western hegemony.

During the discussion, Kirby asserted that the U.S. government would not agree to a ceasefire under any circumstances.

“What we have said before, and we’ll say it again today, that if coming out of this meeting, there’s some sort of call for a ceasefire, well, that’s just going to be unacceptable,” said Kirby.

“Because all that’s going to do, is ratify Russia’s conquest to date. All that’s going to do is give Mr. Putin more time to refit, retrain, reman, and try to plan for renewed offensives at a time of his choosing.”

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/we-wont-accept-a-ceasefire-nsc-strategic-communications-director-john-kirby-says-war-should-continue-because-a-ceasefire-would-favor-putin-video/

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2023/03/we-wont-accept-a-ceasefire-nsc-strategic-communications-director-john-kirby-says-war-should-continue-because-a-ceasefire-would-favor-putin-video/