Citibank, paying agent for foreign bondholders in Russia, received the 117.2 million dollars, which Russia had to disburse as interest on Eurobonds, despite Western sanctions and fears of a possible Russian default, reported this Friday. the Russian Ministry of Finance.
“The Eurobond Paying Agent (Citibank’s London subsidiary) received the funds for the payment of bond proceeds from foreign loans to Russia payable in 2023 and 2043 for a total value of $117.2 million,” The bank pointed out on its Telegram channel.
The Ministry indicated that with this payment Russia has fully complied with its foreign currency debt commitments “in accordance with the bond issuance documents.”
Russia assured this Wednesday that it had given the order to pay the interest on its debt in dollars, although it specified that it could not guarantee that the final creditor would receive the payment due to the impact of the sanctions imposed on that country due to the invasion of Ukraine.
Although the payment due date was March 16, Russia had a 30-day grace period to meet its obligations, until mid-April.
According to the Russian Finance Minister, Anton Siluánov, “the possibility or impossibility of meeting our obligations in foreign currency does not depend on us, we have the money and we have made the payment. Now the ball is in the court of the United States” .
Thanks to the acceptance of this payment, Russia avoided falling into the first non-payment of foreign debt since the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 for not paying the coupon of this issue in the established terms.
The Russian government owes some $40 billion in bonds denominated in dollars and euros, half of which is held by foreign investors.
Russia defends that the sanctions that exclude the country from the international financial system, imposed after the start of the so-called Russian “special military operation” against Ukraine, prevent it from paying in a currency other than the ruble, which it considers an acceptable means of payment. (I)
Source: Eluniverso
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