Greek Finance Minstry Denies Athens Considering Capital Controls

The Greek Finance Ministry officially denied on Sunday reports suggesting capital controls could be introduced in the debt-ridden country.

ATHENS (Sputnik) — BBC reported earlier in the day citing Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis that Greek authorities would consider closing banks on Monday, as well as introducing capital controls.

"Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis has never said that the Greek government would introduce capital controls. On the contrary, he has repeatedly stated that the government considers capital controls to be incompatible with the notion of a monetary union," a statement obtained by RIA Novosti said.

The Governing Council of the European Central Bank made a decision Sunday to keep providing emergency liquidity assistance to the Greek bank sector at the current level.

Greek current bailout program expires on Tuesday. The same day, Greece must deliver the next $1.7-billion payment to one of its major creditors, the International Monetary Fund (IMF). A failure to reach a deal carries the risk of a Greek default and possible exit from the eurozone.

The latest round of talks on Greece’s bailout ended on Saturday with no results.