RZD unable to redeem dollar-denominated Eurobonds on time

MOSCOW. April 7 (Interfax) - Russian Railways (RZD), which is experiencing technical problems with payments on foreign debt due to British sanctions, has not been able to redeem its issue of dollar-denominated Eurobonds on time.

The company had to redeem the Eurobond issue with par value of about $605 million and pay accumulated profit on it on April 5.

According to the company, the issuer of the Eurobonds, RZD Capital, was unable to obtain funds from RZD to pay the holders of these debt securities.

Russian Railways has been on the UK sanctions lists since March 24. The company reported that it had applied to the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) with a request for a license allowing for servicing its debt obligations, but noted that the processing of the request could take several weeks.

Earlier, Russian Railways failed to make coupon payments on Eurobonds denominated in rubles, Swiss francs and British pounds on time.

In its statement, RZD notes that payments on the company's Eurobonds in different currencies may be postponed or suspended indefinitely by the respective paying agents or correspondent banks due to their internal compliance procedures.