Cyprus Postmortems: Financial Manipulation Triggers Poverty and Economic Collapse
By Stephen Lendman
Global Research
March 29, 2013
On March 28, Cyrus Mail said banks opened for the first time in almost two weeks. They did so at midday local time. Cypriots face draconian restrictions. How they’ll react remains to be seen.
Capital controls limit withdrawals, restrict non-cash transactions, freeze check cashing, and convert checking accounts into fixed-term deposits.
Finance Minister Michalis Sarris “signed into law a temporary decree.” It caps cash withdrawals “per person per bank at 300 euros.”
It “effectively ban(s) cheques and control(s) cash outflows from the country.”
It permits only 1,000 euros per person to travel abroad per trip. Higher amounts require special approval.
Business payments are capped at 5,000 euros per day. Others up to 200,000 euros require approval of a “special four-member committee.” Amounts above 200,000 require similar approval.
Distributing company payrolls require supporting documents. They’re needed for student tuition and living expenses. They’re required to send funds to first degree relatives studying abroad.
Overseas payments or transfers by debit, credit or prepaid cards are allowed up to 5,000 euros per month per person per bank.
The same goes for comparable amounts overseas by debit, credit or prepaid cards.
“Other payments or transfer of funds require the prior approval of the committee, taking into account the liquidity buffer situation of each credit institution in question.”
It won’t “be possible to prematurely break fixed-term deposits unless the funds are used to repay a loan within the same bank.”
The Rest…HERE
