Debt crisis: Greece defaults €1.5bn IMF payment

Athens, July 1: Greece has missed the deadline for a €1.5bn (£1.1bn) payment to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), making it first developed country to default to the IMF.

"I confirm that the SDR 1.2 billion repayment (about EUR 1.5 billion) due by Greece to the IMF June 30 has not been received. We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared," said statement issued by Gerry Rice, Director of Communications.

"I can also confirm that the IMF received a request from the Greek authorities for an extension of Greece's repayment obligation that fell due June 30, which will go to the IMF's Executive Board in due course.".

There are fears that this could put Greece at risk of leaving the euro.

With the eurozone bailout expired, Greece no longer has access to billions of euros in funds and could not meet its IMF repayment.

The European Central Bank (ECB) has also frozen its liquidity lifeline to Greek banks.

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