He added: "In the whole scheme of things, from a sanctions perspective, it may have been a start, but I don't think with just SWIFT sanctions alone you can get the desired result that people are looking for." He said blocking transactions from the Central Bank of Russia was the most impactful sanction so far and overrode the SWIFT ban because it "effectively wiped out Russia's foreign currency reserve."Īccording to Thomas, SWIFT is "just a communication-enabling platform." He said: "There are other ways that messages can be communicated and other ways to move funds out of Russia." Nathanael Tilahun, an assistant professor and economic sanctions expert at Coventry University, told Insider's Grace Dean he had similar sentiments. His comments chime with Dmitri Medvedev, the deputy chairman of the Security Council of Russia, who said that cutting Russia off from the SWIFT banking system wouldn't be " a catastrophe," but would make bank communication "more difficult," Insider's Ben Winck reported. Mitch Thomas, head of product development at a New York-based fintech company, FinLync, told Insider: "It sounds good to be able to say that we've restricted communication with these banks via SWIFT but in reality, has got a number of different mechanisms to get money out of the country." But according to finance experts, there are many ways Russia can get around a SWIFT ban.