Canadian financial institutions are now barred from doing any transactions with Russia‘s central bank — a key target for Western sanctions aimed at punishing Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the prohibition in a tweet on Monday.
He billed the move against the Russian central bank as one aimed at “eliminating its ability to deploy Russia’s international currency reserves and further restricting Putin’s ability to finance his war of choice.”
The Russian currency plummeted against the U.S. dollar as markets opened on Monday following several rounds of sanctions imposed over recent days over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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So far, the drop marks a 30 per cent slide in the value of the Russian currency relative to the U.S. dollar.
Russia was cut off from SWIFT over the weekend following an agreement among European and North American allies, marking a significant blow to Putin’s regime.
The system facilitates global financial transactions.
More to come.
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