CYPRUS MAY ONLY BE THE FIRST! EU and IMF ARE GOING LAWLESS!

Submitted by: Donald Hank

Monday, 18 March 2013 The Rape Of Cyprus By The European Union & The IMF Submitted by Tyler Durden on 03/17/2013 23:38 -0400 Submitted by Mark J. Grant, author of Out of the Box, I have been watching articles pour forth about Cyprus all weekend. I am almost as aggravated with the majority of them as I am with what took place. People are dancing around the edges while the propaganda machines of Europe are churning out the usual bunk. Let's get some things straight and look what has happened directly in the face. There was no tax on the bank accounts in Cyprus. There still is no tax; the Cyprus Parliament has not passed it and will not vote on it until tomorrow so whatever action takes place it is retroactive. Next, this was not enacted by Cyprus. The people from Nicosia did not go to the Summit and ask to have the bank accounts in their country minimized to help pay the bills. Far from it; the nations of Europe, Germany, France, the Netherlands and the rest, demanded that this take place, a "fait accompli," the President of Cyprus said and Europe annexes Cyprus. Let's be quite clear; the European Union has confiscated the private property of the citizens in Cyprus without debate, legislation or Parliamentary agreement. A bank account is not a bond or a stock or any sort of investment. This seems to be lost on many people. A bank account is the private property of a citizen or a corporation and does not belong to the government or at least that was the supposition up until now in Europe. Next there is deposit insurance in Europe. Every country has its own version but it is there. It guaranteed the bank accounts of citizens up to one hundred thousand Euros. So much for the meaning of any guarantee in Cyprus or any other country in Europe. Null and Void! If the European Union can dismantle deposit insurance in Cyprus they can damn well do it in whatever country they please and at any time. Here’s the description of the Cypriot government deposit insurance plan: "Participation in the DPS is compulsory for all banks authorized by the Central Bank of Cyprus, i.e. banks incorporated in the Republic of Cyprus, including their branches in other countries, and the Cyprus branches of foreign banks, incorporated outside the Republic of Cyprus or the Member-States of the European Union. The DPS does not cover deposits of branches of banks established in European Union Member States. These deposits are covered by the corresponding deposit protection scheme established in the country of incorporation. The DPS is activated in the event a decision is reached that a member bank is unable to repay its deposits, or as a result of a Court’s order for the winding-up of a member bank. Where a bank is unable to pay its deposits, the relevant decision is adopted by the Central Bank of Cyprus or, where a member bank is incorporated in a country outside the Republic of Cyprus, by the competent supervisory authority of the country of incorporation. The maximum level of compensation, per depositor, per bank, is €100.000." Please note that until yesterday all depositors in Cypriot banks were insured up to the value of €100,000 with any one bank. Today that solemn governmental promise has been shown for what it is; a lie. Worse and actually far worse and quite scary in fact is that the European Union and the European Central Bank and the IMF has not just allowed violation of the deposit insurance but demanded it. One thing is certain here; if they can void deposit insurance in Cyprus then they can void it in any country in Europe. Further; if they can void deposit insurance then they can void bond covenants with the scratch of a pen on paper. Nothing now; Nothing is safe! Pay attention please. The European Union and the European Central Bank and the IMF have just advocated the confiscation of private property for their own indulgence. Bank accounts are not bonds or stocks or some other form of investments. It is private property like your house or your car. Germany, France et al came in and said, "We want it and we are taking it and it is necessary for our government." These countries did not demand it, yet, from their own citizens though they might soon but they demanded it from the citizens of Cyprus in exchange for funds. This is not a European Union this is a European Fourth Reich! "The moment the idea is admitted into society that property is not as sacred as the law of God, and that there is not a force of law and public justice to protect it, anarchy and tyranny commence."           -John Adams =============================== Business & Money Cyprus: The E.U. ‘Rescue’ That Risks Backfiring By Peter GumbelMarch 17, 2013 With its $13 billion agreement to bail out Cyprus, the E.U. this weekend thought that it had successfully doused the latest threat to its single currency, the euro. Cyprus has run into trouble because its banks are heavily exposed to Greek debt. Instead, the nature of the bailout – which features a levy on the bank deposits of ordinary Cypriots — has sparked a bank run on the island that threatens to spill over to other European countries. The sudden eruption of panic could still be contained; European officials on Sunday night were looking to revise the terms of the agreement ahead of a vote on the rescue package in the Cypriot parliament, in order to shield smaller depositors. E.U. officials insist that Cyprus was always a special case. But by forcing ordinary citizens to fund the bank rescues up front, through a tax on deposits, the E.U. is setting a precedent that is chilling to people in other countries, like Spain, which has looked at a bailout for its own beleaguered banking system. (MORE: Saving the Euro Zone, One Bank at a Time) In an impassioned address on Cyprus TV on Sunday night, President Nicos Anastasiades said, “Cyprus is in a tragic situation,” but he argued that this rescue package was the best one for the island nation. “I chose the least painful option, and I bear the political cost for this, in order to limit as much as possible the consequences for the economy and for our fellow Cypriots,” he said. The $13 billion bailout package may seem like chump change, but in fact it represents about 50% of Cyprus’ total economy. The Cypriot central-bank governor, Panicos Demetriades, has pointed out that, as a proportion of GDP, it is one of the largest bank bailouts ever, second only to the 1997 bank bailout in Indonesia. The government first requested a bailout in June 2012 after the two biggest banks, Laiki Bank and Bank of Cyprus, racked up huge losses on their exposure to Greek debt and themselves needed to be rescued. The sticking point for E.U. officials, and especially for the German government, has long been Cyprus’ status as a haven for Russian money, at least some of which is widely assumed to be of dubious origin. The German national intelligence agency in November reportedly found that Russians had deposited as much as $26 billion in the island’s banks, prompting government fears that E.U. bailout funds would simply disappear into a bottomless pit of corruption. (MORE: Why the Euro Crisis Is Nowhere Near Being Over) At the insistence of both the E.U. and the IMF, Cyprus would only receive a bailout if as much as $6 billion of the money could be recouped from bank depositors. That solution was aimed primarily at the Russians and other wealthy depositors, with more than $130,000 in their accounts. But under the terms of the agreement finalized on Friday night, all depositors will take a hit. A one-time levy of 9.9% will be charged on deposits over $130,000, and accounts with less will be charged 6.75%. Monday happens to be a bank holiday in Cyprus, so the agreement was supposed to take effect on Tuesday, following a vote by the Cyprus parliament. Electronic bank transfers were suspended and ATM withdrawals were limited — but even so the cash machines quickly ran dry as ordinary Cypriots rushed to withdraw as much money as they could. The parliamentary vote, slated for Sunday, was postponed, and now looks like being a critical moment for the island’s politics: President Anastasiades’ party has only 20 of the 56 seats in parliament. In his TV address on Sunday, he insisted that he was seeking to strike a revised and more favorable deal for small depositors. But opposition leaders are rejecting the deal. All in all, it’s a volatile mix that looks sure to rattle markets around the world until the situation is resolved. MORE: Europe’s Good News: Economic Decline Is Bad, but Could Be Worse Peter Gumbel @petergumbel Peter Gumbel writes about European business and finance from Paris, where he has lived since 2002. He was worked as a staff writer for The Wall Street Journal, TIME and Fortune. The London-based Work Foundation named him "Journalist of the Year" in 2005. Foreigners hold some 40 per cent of the €68bn sitting in Cypriot banks. Most of that belongs to Russians Daniel McLaughlin Topics: Business Sectors Financial Services European Union Cyprus Sun, Mar 17, 2013, 22:57 First published:Mon, Mar 18, 2013, For many of Russia ’s richest men and women, Cyprus has long been a haven of sun, sea and blissfully low taxation, but the European Union ’s bailout of the Mediterranean island has now delivered a painful blow to their cherished offshore accounts. Foreigners hold some 40 per cent of the €68 billion sitting in Cypriot banks, and most of that belongs to Russians, who for decades have favoured the island as a place to stash their money. An editorial on the website of the Russian edition of Forbessaid: “Russians have lost up to €3.5 billion in one day. The news of a 10 per cent tax on deposits in Cypriot banks has sown panic among the richest Russian businessmen.” Russian individuals, and companies big and small, stash tens of billions of euro abroad each year, preferring places like Cyprus – relatively stable, with a relatively clear legal and taxation system, low tax rates and light regulation – to chronically unpredictable Russia. Bloated bank sector This capital flight helped to bloat Cyprus’s banking sector, which is now more than seven times larger than the island’s gross domestic product. This avalanche of cash cascading over Cyprus from Russia and the former Soviet Union has long attracted suspicious looks from the EU. “Suspicion arises – and it’s plain to see – because Russian investment in Cyprus is so high and at the same time Cypriot investment in Russia is high,” German finance minister Wolfgang Schäuble said in January. “You may ask why Cyprus is the second largest foreign investor in Russia and we need clear answers to that.” Late last year, Germany’s Der Spiegel magazine cited a German intelligence agency report warning that “Russian oligarchs, businesspeople and mafiosi” would benefit most from a bailout. Germany, the Netherlands and Finland pushed hard for depositors in Cypriot banks to help pay for the EU bailout, and Russia – given its exposure to the island – ultimately had little choice in helping the West keep it afloat. Last week, Moody’s ratings agency estimated that Russian companies could lose $19 billion (€14.5 billion) if Cyprus defaulted and froze loan repayments. Russian ‘contribution’ EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn said he believed “the Russian government is ready to make a contribution with an extension of the loan and a reduction of the interest rate” on Moscow’s existing €2.5 billion credit line to Cyprus. Cypriot finance minister Michael Sarris is expected in Moscow for talks this week, amid rumours that Russian banks may seek stakes in Cypriot lenders. Whether the EU-imposed levy on deposits in Cyprus damages its standing with Russians remains to be seen. “Faith in Cyprus as a place that’s convenient to keep your money will be undermined,” said Anatoly Aksakov, a parliamentary deputy and head of a Russian association for regional banks. Russian senator Alexander Torshin, with a nod to Russian president Vladimir Putin’s recent pledge to repatriate Russian cash from offshore havens, struck a different note. “Now then, my good men (and bad men), how do you like Cyprus?” he posted on Twitter. “How many times did we tell you – keep your money in Russian banks!”