By Daphne Psaledakis

WASHINGTON (Reuters), – Thursday’s US sanctions on Russia were imposed in retaliation against its invasion Ukraine. They targeted the major banks, elite members and new export controls.

Washington stated that additional action was possible and all options remain open.

Here are some possible ways that the United States could increase its sanctions against Russia.

SANCTIONS ABOUT PUTIN

The United States might take the uncommon but not unusual step of sanctioning a head-of-state and designating Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In the past, US sanctions have been imposed on state heads including Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro (Syria’s Bashar al Assad)

Friday’s agreement by the EU to suspend any European assets of Putin, Sergey Lavrov and other foreign ministers was made.

SWIFT

One alternative is to exclude Russia from SWIFT, the main international payment network in the world – this would impact Russian trade and make Russian businesses less able to conduct business.

SWIFT, a secure messaging platform that allows for rapid cross-border payment and is the main mechanism to finance international trade, has been renamed as “SWIFT”.

According to their 2020 annual review, approximately 38 million SWIFT messages referred to as FIN were sent daily over SWIFT platforms in 2020. It is the most popular way to send trillions of Dollars each year.

In response to a question about why Washington had not closed Russia off from the payments system on Thursday, Joe Biden, the U.S. president stated that sanctions against Russian banks were of “equal consequence,” and if possible more.

Biden stated that while it is an option in the future, this was not the right position for Europe at the moment.

France’s finance minister stated Friday that the EU is closely monitoring what consequences Russia would have if it was cut off from SWIFT. Some nations are hesitant about concerns over how Russian energy imports will be paid and whether EU creditors will get paid.

OLIGARCHS

This week, the Treasury imposed sanctions against Russian “elites”, including those with ties to Rosneft, VTB and Rosneft.

Brian O’Toole is a former official at the Treasury Department who now works with the Atlantic Council. He said that the United States could also place sanctions against more important Russian oligarchs.

O’Toole claimed that those included in Thursday’s action are not the “major tycoons.”

TIGHTENED FIRMS, BANKS SANCTIONS

Other options include tightening sanctions for banks and companies that were targeted by Thursday’s United States action, but not designating using their most powerful sanctioning tool the Specially Designated Nationals List (SDN).

Washington ordered U.S. banks to end their correspondent banking relationships – that allow banks to pay one another and transfer money across the globe. However, Washington did not freeze assets of Sberbank Russia’s biggest lender.

The existing restrictions on U.S. individuals dealing with the equity and debt of Russian state-owned companies were also extended. These restrictions are applicable to 13 companies, which include Gazprombank and the Russian Agricultural Bank.

Washington might tighten restrictions and include these entities on the SDN List. This would effectively ban them from the U.S. financial systems, prohibit them from trading with Americans, and put them in the United States assets freeze.

“We have every option on the table. A senior U.S. government official stated that there is still time to increase as Russia’s aggression increases.

OIL COMPANIES

Washington might decide to pursue Russian oil companies. This is something it has largely avoided doing.

Biden’s administration is concerned about its sanctions triggering higher energy prices. It has taken measures to reduce those costs, such as issuing a general licence on Thursday that authorizes certain energy-related transactions between banks up until June 24.

On Thursday, the official stated that while we know that there will be costs we must bear, our goal is not to increase them. That’s why we decided to avoid energy targeting.