Mali failed to pay 47.32 billion CFA francs ($78.5 million) in principal and interest due on a treasury bond due to sanctions following two coups, Umoa-Titres said on Tuesday, pushing its total defaults to $180 million.
The sanctions were imposed by ECOWAS (Economic Community of West African States) and UEMOA after Mali’s military rulers delayed the upcoming election.
As a result of the sanctions, Mali has missed payments totalling approximately $180 million since January.
Sanctions include closing border crossings and limiting financial transactions. UEMOA has been sued by the Malian authorities for these measures, calling them inhumane.
The Mali government has a number of treasury bills and bonds maturing this year, one of them on March 9.
Legal representatives for the ruling military junta in Mali said they filed a lawsuit to get sanctions lifted by the monetary union in West Africa as the nation battles a debt crisis that threatens to wreak havoc on the economy, they said they took legal action.
On Feb. 15, the junta’s lawyers filed two complaints with the UEMOA Court of Justice. One petition requested the repeal of UEMOA sanctions, and the other sought the suspension of their implementation due to the negative impact on the population.