BUSINESS
Russia in first foreign debt default since 1918
June 27, 2022 - Russia has defaulted on its foreign-currency sovereign debt for the first time in a century, the culmination of ever-tougher sanctions imposed after the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Sunday, the grace period on about $100 million of snared interest payments due May 27 expired, a deadline considered an event of default if missed, according to Bloomberg News.
Russia has pushed back against the default designation, saying it has the funds to cover any bills and has been forced into non-payment. As it tried to twist its way out, it announced last week that it would switch to servicing its $40 billion of outstanding sovereign debt in rubles, criticising a “force-majeure” situation it said was artificially manufactured by the West, Bloomberg said.