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Russia could already be in default on some of its foreign currency debts, according to bondholders that claim they are still owed a small interest payment that Moscow didn’t send to them earlier this spring, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. A change in U.S. sanctions on Wednesday is expected to cut off Russia’s ability to stay current on its dollar-denominated sovereign debt, which it has managed to continue servicing since the invasion of Ukraine began. Some investors, though, allege that Moscow has defaulted already by failing to pay about $1.9 million in interest and they have submitted notices of the possible default to bond custodian Euroclear earlier this month. The allegedly overdue payment represents interest that Russia accrued while it spent 28 days in a grace period in April and early May, the documents show. The bond in question matured in early April. Russia didn’t pay its foreign interest for nearly a month, until an 11th hour payment was made. However, some bondholders have said that Moscow forgot to include an estimated $1.9 million of accrued interest that was generated in the interim, which is now overdue beyond the grace period, and they have accordingly informed Euroclear, the records show.

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.

Google’s Russian subsidiary plans to file for bankruptcy, Reuters reported. The U.S. tech firm said Wednesday (May 18) that Russian authorities had seized the unit's bank account. Alphabet’s Google has been under pressure in Russia for months as Moscow wanted it to delete content it viewed as illegal. It was also criticized in the country for restricting access to some Russian media on YouTube. The Kremlin has so far stopped short of blocking access to its platforms. Google said that by seizing its bank account authorities had made it impossible for its Russian office to function. It also published a notice of the unit's intention to file for bankruptcy. Google has stopped the majority of its commercial operations in Russia since February.