Russian finance officials said Friday that they had pushed through around $100 million in interest payments due under some of the country’s foreign-currency debts, ahead of a likely change in U.S. sanctions next week that is expected to curtail Moscow’s ability to keep paying its sovereign debt, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Russia’s Finance Ministry said it had submitted roughly $71.3 million due under a dollar-denominated bond due 2026 and 26.5 million euros, equivalent to about $28 million, under a euro-denominated bond due 2036, according to Russian state media agency TASS. Earlier this week, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the U.S. would likely prevent U.S. investors from receiving payments on the Kremlin’s sovereign debt by letting an existing carve-out in sanctions against Russia expire May 25. That exemption has allowed American banks and investors to process and receive bond payments from Russia since the war with Ukraine began in late February. By making payments ahead of next week’s deadline, Russia is likely aiming to delay a default scenario that would arise if it couldn’t get funds into bondholder accounts, according to Timothy Ash, senior sovereign economist at BlueBay Asset Management in London.
