Read more about No signs of Russia payment; confusion starts countdown to bond deadline on Business Standard. Russia says it has fulfilled order to pay $117 million in Eurobond interest, but bondholders in Europe say they have received no sign of the funds
Russia’s Ministry said that it has paid the interest on its dollar bonds to its correspondent bank, giving incremental details on a payment that has come to exemplify how the nation plans to handle its future relations with creditors. In an emailed statement on Thursday, the ministry said it had sent the order for a $117 million coupon payment on March 14 to a correspondent bank that it didn’t identify, adding that it would issue a separate comment if the paying agent, Citibank’s London branch, has received the payment. The bank didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. So far, bondholders in Europe have received no sign of the funds. Bonds with coupons due Wednesday rose. What happens next is unclear, but if Russia’s creditors don’t get the cash in dollars within the 30-day grace period that starts on Thursday, it would be the first time the nation defaulted on foreign-currency bonds since the Bolsheviks repudiated the czar’s debts in 1918.
