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Here are the top business stories making the headlines in the morning newspapers.

Possibility of imminent Russian default

International investors are poised to thrust Russia into default within days by rejecting a Kremlin offer to pay its debts in roubles, according to the Telegraph.

Senior City fund managers said that they will refuse to take the Russian currency as payment if it is offered on Wednesday to settle a £90million interest bill. The country may offer roubles as a bid to get round sanctions preventing access to its dollar reserves.

Russia admitted for the first time on Monday that it risks defaulting on its sovereign debt, and accused the West of using sanctions to artificially create a situation where it cannot repay creditors.

Russian finance minister Anton Siluanov insisted the country has enough money to meet its debt obligations.

A unilateral decision to pay the interest bill in Russian currency will trigger a default, three senior fund managers said.

The bond payment is legally required to be made in dollars so any attempt to use another currency can be rejected. A default would mean that Russia is effectively bankrupt and likely trigger a further flight of capital.

Petrol price expected to drop

The petrol price is likely to fall back from record levels due to the costs of wholesale fuel and global oil easing, UK motoring groups have said.

The BBC reports that the average price for a litre of petrol hit £1.63 on Sunday after rising above £1.60 for the first time last week.

Diesel remained above £1.73 a litre, but the AA said "wild" pump prices should stabilise, unless global oil prices take off again.

But MPs were told this was a "lull before the storm" of more price hikes.

Nathan Piper, head of oil and gas research at financial services company Investec, said consumers "need to get ready for what could be continued increases in fuel prices".

Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked oil costs to surge worldwide.

Mr Piper told the Treasury Committee: "If more stringent actions are imposed upon Russia, and five million barrels a day is truly taken out of the market, then oil prices would really have no ceiling."

He explained that the UK was roughly self-sufficient in petrol, but imported much of its diesel.

How Abramovich made his money

A BBC investigation has uncovered new evidence about the allegedly-corrupt deals that made Roman Abramovich's fortune.

The Chelsea owner made billions after buying an oil company from the Russian government in a rigged auction in 1995.

Mr Abramovich paid around £190million for Sibneft, before selling it back to the Russian government for $13billion in 2005.

His lawyers say there is no basis for alleging he has amassed very substantial wealth through criminality.

The Russian billionaire was sanctioned by the UK Government last week because of his links to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Abramovich's assets have been frozen and he has been disqualified as a director of Chelsea Football Club.

The BBC says he has already admitted in a UK court that he made corrupt payments to help get the Sibneft deal off the ground.

BrewDog chief hired private investigators to tackle ‘smear campaign’

The boss of the brewing and bar company BrewDog claims he has been the victim of a “coordinated criminal campaign” and hired private detectives to gather evidence of it.

The Times reports that James Watt used Integritas Investigative Solutions to look into his concerns about the damage being done to his personal reputation and that of the company he co-founded.

The Scottish businessman suggests he has been subject to defamation, blackmail, fraud, malicious communication and harassment over the past two years.


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