The Kremlin towers and Ivan the Great Cathedral in Moscow.
Kirill Kudryavtsev | Afp | Getty Images
The Biden administration will ban Russia’s government from paying bondholders through American banks starting Wednesday morning, the Treasury Department said.
The move increases the odds that Russia will default on its outstanding debt.
It is the latest sanction against that country by the United States in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Biden administration since the invasion had granted a crucial exception to sanctions on Russia’s central bank, allowing that bank to process payments to bondholders through U.S. and international banks.
But that exception will go away at 12:01 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to a bulletin issued by the Treasury Department entitled, “Notice on Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions General License 9C.”
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