Europe News

Greek PM calls for bank closures, capital controls

Despite a tweet from Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis that his government "opposed the very concept" of any controls, Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said later Sunday that he had forced the country's central bank to recommend a bank holiday and capital controls.

The Athens stock exchange will also be closed as the government tries to manage the financial fallout of the disagreement with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. Greece's banks, kept afloat by emergency funding from the European Central Bank, are on the front line as Athens moves towards defaulting on a 1.6 billion euros payment due to the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday.

In Athens, lines have formed around many ATMs, and some are already empty.

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—Reuters contributed to this report.