The Moody’s International Rating Agency recognized the default of Belarus on external debt of coupon payments on Eurobonds made in Belarusian rubles, Forbes reports.
The Moody’s report indicates that the Ministry of Finance of Belarus made coupon payments for Eurobonds Belarus-27 in Belarusian rubles, bond holders could not get them. The republic was supposed to pay $ 22.9 million, their non -payment after the grace period Moody’s regarded the default.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 22 signed a decree on external debt payments in rubles. Following the decision to repay debt obligations in the national currency was made by Belarus.
After Russia announced that it would switch to payments in rubles, the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation announced the first such repayment of coupons for bonds on June 23. On June 27, Bloomberg wrote that Russia has allowed the first default on external debt since 1918. The Kremlin categorically did not agree with this. However, Moody’s also regarded the situation as a default of Russia. The agency was called by the default event that the holders of Russian sovereign Eurobonds did not receive coupon payments in the amount of $ 100 million. We are talking about two issues of Eurobonds – dollar with a maturity in 2026 and nominated in euros with a repayment period in 2036. The Russian Ministry of Finance, in turn, assured that the obligations were fulfilled in full. Payments in original currencies were made on May 20 to the payment agent – the national settlement depository (NRA), the department said. The responsibility for the fact that they did not reach the holders, in the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation were assigned to international calculation-changing systems.