Greece Mulling 6-Month Delay on IMF Debt Repayment

The Greek government is considering delaying the repayment of its $1.7-billion June debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by six months.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Athens is considering delaying the repayment of its $1.7-billion June debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) by six months, German tabloid Bild cited a sourced in the Greek government as saying Tuesday.

The German outlet pointed to a "technical possibility for a unilateral payment delay" that had reportedly been discovered in IMF regulations.

The Greek government was quick to deny having such plans, according to The Telegraph.

In early June, Greece made use of IMF rules allowing it to postpone repayment of its June 5 $342-million installment by bundling four payments to the IMF into a single payment to be delivered by the end of the month.

In a Monday interview with Bild, Greek finance chief Yanis Varoufakis said his country does not have the money to repay the IMF debt.

Greece has been negotiating with its three key lenders – the International Monetary Fund, the European Commission, and the European Central Bank – to receive about $8.1 billion in bailout funds. Talks collapsed last week after the IMF walked out over accusations of a lack of progress on reforms for Greece.

The financial lifeline has been delayed by three months, and Athens has stated that it could run out of money during summer.