Interesting development in the Cyprus bank story....
 

A government plane carrying 1 million euros is being flown to Cyprus so Brits (Forces and Govt workers) living there can apply for emergency cash loans.

source?

8 char s

a whole million euros on one plane!

all this cyprus hype/fear is short sighted. people who had big money there are still better off paying low or no tax and getting 5% interest even after they had 10% taken away. its the price of doing risky business.

They have just put it up - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-21847013

wow, i hand't realized the tax is just to get the loan. dang that's harsh.

Not everyone is in that situation - Its your opinion that is short sighted...

1m or 1b?

is this some form of pressure?

Thats only $333 per person that does not seem right and thats on militery
if there sending it for expats that's $40

Why would you announce that a plane with that much money on it was going anywhere? If you have to say something, say when it landed.

Its only so people can buy food etc and its only a percentage will need it - Lots will have UK accounts/cards they can use.

I was thinking that - but its not really that much these days - Its also an army plane, you would have to be pretty stupid to try and rob it...

lol - I was just searching for that pic....

touche

so it IS some form of pressure

I think it is more of a statement from the UK government than 'pressure'.

it sucks for the residents of the country but anyone else with money there was doing it to avoid taxes and take advantage of the interest. if they wanted their money secure they should of used banks in real countries.

1) Cyprus is a real country with real banks. Not everyone who has an account there is evading taxes. That is a very short sighted view. Some countries just don't have stable / safe banking so it makes sense to put your money where it is stable. People who conduct business on an international level have very valid reasons for banking there, and it's legal.

2) You're totally missing the larger picture, which is banks are stealing people's money and they are having "bank holidays" which means people can not access their money. The banks are no longer secure and the insurance that your money is safe just went out the window. Currently it is four days. Next time it may be 10. Next time they may just close up shop and you lose. Now you see what game the bank is playing, do you want to take that risk? Faith in the entire system is being put on the line right now because something like this may not stop with Cyprus. Maybe next time it's Italy or Spain, and eventually your country. Chances are it will be if this goes without a hitch.

This is like your FDIC insured bank in the USA skimming 10% off the top and closing up shop for a few days so you can't get your money. You would flip-fucking-out, especially if you needed the money. You would lose faith in that bank and probably the entire banking system if all the banks did the same thing. Well, that is what is happening now. It has nothing to do with people taking risks with banks and getting what they deserve because of it. There are many legitimate reasons to have a bank account and business there, which is something most Americans / Canadians don't understand because they do not usually think on an international level. Thus the USA has been left behind in just about ever sector except war and debt, left with a distorted view on how the world really works.

What does having money in a cyprus bank have to do with anything with being on an international level? Last time I checked you can use a bank account in any country to send money to any other country. if I am missing something, please fill me in. Why can't these people from unstable countries use a bank in germany or the UK?

Everyone knows why people set up accounts in cyprus. Yeah. Im sure all the adult companies set up there just want to have money in some international bank? What makes cyrpus an 'international' bank more so than any other bank? I don't agree with what they did at all but for example if someone had 100k in an american bank and 100k in a cyprus bank fpr five years, after the 10% they still would be better off in cyprus just because of the high interest rate.

i don't see it happening anywhere else because spain and italy, etc don't have the same banking laws that cyprus does. who is putting their money in spain and italy to avoid taxes? you say there are many reasons for using cyprus, i just don't see if. can you point me to a list of legitimate reasons perhaps?

according to the news link in post#5, some of the british military establish a bank account in the country they are assigned in. the mil euros is just in case they cannot access that cash via atm, also, the military is offering to direct deposit those military paychecks into a UK account instead of the cypriot account.

i can understand setting up an account at a bank in my neighborhood eh.

You might have to consider, that for us naive Americans, maybe we can't understand putting our money into banks within a country that is economicaly unstable and so damn far away. Most of the US Tax evaders money historicaly went to the Grand Caymans or Switzerland.

Though now the Tax rates in other countries such as Ireland seem to draw the largest Tax evaders, such as Apple and Google. But since the U.S. press is only giving that coverage 3 or 4 times a week, we as a nation remain woefully ignorant of the systemic Tax evasion and Tax havens. That's mostly because Johnny can't read (Both the USA and Canada have functional illiteracy rates in excess of 26%), or cannot bear to read or watch that lamestream liberal media.

If you have been reading any of the Reuters and AP press coverage on this crisis, you would note that the majority of the foreign money effected in the Cypriot "Tax" grab is from Russia, with the remainder primarily coming from the EU.

The estimated loss to Russian Tax evaders is USD 3.1 billion. And sure, Yes, those Russian individuals and companies have worked within the constraints of their Tax code, just as the US Tax evaders do. Just because it's legal, does not make it ethical.

The people who live in Cyprus use Cypriot accounts for the same reason we all use local banks - Its convenient.

Lots of people have holiday homes in Cyrus and use a Cyprus bank for local bills etc....

There are 60 thousand Brits alone with homes in Cyprus.

The list of reasons to have a local Cypriot account are the same as any other country.

You seem to completely ignore those people and can only focus on the others.

like i said, it sucks for the people who actually live there but come on, the people who own holiday homes there don't need local bank accounts to pay bills. its just an easy way to stash away some cash.

Banks will be closed for sure till next thursday, maybe till monday.

The vote will be NO so or they have a backup plan or in a week country will be bankrupt.

Time to move out .... it will be a mess in the next few days

Why would they choose to do it the hard way - Before this there was no reason not to have an account.

I have a Spanish and a New Zealand account to pay local bills etc, it would be hard to do it any other way.

Not everyone with a foreign account is doing it to avoid taxes.

I understand if you have little sympathy for tax evaders, but that's far from the only reason to hold a Cypriot account.

ok so if you don't live there and don't own property there what would the other reasons be?

But we are talking about THOSE people - They are the ones that are going to be hit and don't deserve to be.

We have both agreed that there are people using the banking in Cyprus for less than honest reasons - Fuck them over, but don't take the others down with them.

To pay local bills.

Having a local a/c is by far the most efficient way of paying monthly bills; anything else would incur absurd unneeded charges, since they would have to be international transfers.

Electricity, water, cable, land tax/rates, phone etc; an extra +/- $25 each, incurred monthly on each international payment from not having standing orders at a local bank would be crazy.
And that is before you take bank commissions on currency conversion into account on each payment.

Unlike Cyprus, not all countries even enable you to 'stash away some cash' anyway.
Non residents, with second homes in some Caribbean countries at least for example, as we do, have legislation to prevent this:
No CASH can be deposited on such an a/c.
Any transfer over $10k requires a source of funds document submission; that to be approved by the compliance dept.

In all practical terms, a local a/c is virtually a requirement, and since your country of residence will be aware of your vacation/retirement home location
- using that same country as a base to stash hidden funds would be pretty stupid anyway.

Others have already posted several legit reasons. For whatever reason you can't grasp that not every country in the world has stable banking like the USA and many people who do have the ability to bank elsewhere, do. You seem to think having a bank account in a "tax haven" means everyone is evading taxes and we're all living in 1990 when you could open a bank account with no documents. Those days are LONG gone.

People choose Cyprus for the same reason they choose any other country for banking, it works for their needs. The same reason you choose to only bank in your country, it works for you. Those of us who work outside of our home country need.... wait for it... wait.... foreign bank accounts. And if you're going to open a foreign bank account, why not open one where banking is safe, secure, easy, and doesn't shut your account down because you're trying to access it from another country. International banks are better for international business. It's that simple. USA banks are great for doing business within the USA, but their fees are much higher and they were not equipped to handle my international needs so I opened several accounts elsewhere, and none of it had to do with tax evasion. Now I don't even use a USA based bank, why would I? They suck if you don't live in the USA.

Until Thursday.

Um, a million euros doesn't sound like a huge amount of money really.... Chances are the plane itself is worth one hundred times that.

uh but i said for those who DON"T live there, what are the legit reasons.

Do you have any idea how many people don't live in their home countries and need solid banking?

As an expat, banking in a place like Cyprus is appealing for many reasons, here are just a few off quickly the top of my head based purely on banking and not actually having a business in Cyprus:

- They don't freeze your account as you travel and pull out money from various ATMs around the world.
- It allows you to send international wires from an online admin to any bank in the world.
- Fees are (usually) fairly cheap.
- Up until a few days ago, it was secure.
- It is out of reach of anyone who may try to sue you. Asset protection.
- Some expats need banks outside the countries they live/work in for various reasons due to government laws about how you hold/transfer money.

If I had to choose between putting all my money in a Cambodian, Laos, Burmese, or Thai bank vs Cyprus bank, until this week it was a no brainer. Until this week I would have chosen Cyprus over just about any other country, or it at least would have been on a very short list.

I don't consider cyrus a stable country. Without the tax benefits of banking there, they wouldn't have anything. 70 billion dollars in deposits, how much would be there if not for the tax benefits? I can get that some places aren't safe to bank but you think cyprus is? I'm sure cyprus isn't the only 'international' bank (i am still not sure what makes one bank international and another not). i guess the tons of shell companies set up there is just a coincidence all in the name of international banking.

BTW... in regards to the porn industry, Cyprus is considered a "EU Region" for those who want to use Visa EU.

It looks like the whole thing is moot anyway - https://gfy.com/showthread.php?t=1103614

sounds good in theory but how do you protect yourself from fraud?
can't you do this anywhere?

if you're just using it as a regular bank account, how much could the fees possibly be anyways?

in my opinion any country that is built upon hiding money is not really secure
that doesn't seem right. why should these people be able to keep their money if they lost a suit?
i don't know anything about this so sure but it sounds like they are circumventing the law in the country they are living in. you should be following any laws in whatever country you happen to be residing in.
if cyprus made people pay a more reasonable tax, they probably wouldn't of been in this mess to begin with. either way, since you in no way use to so you can pay less taxes you should be mad as hell at those who do because they are fucking up your banking.

Cyprus BANKING is... er... was stable and very safe. It has been for years. What you consider safe is not relevant to the fact that it is known for banking and billions are have been kept there for a reason. You don't have to understand it.

Cyprus, Dubai, Hong Kong, Switzerland, Lichtenstein, and so on, all great banking countries for various reasons and have been for a long time. Some are better than others, some are better for this or that, but it all comes down to what works best for you and your business, and many choose Cyprus.

Shell companies are set up all over the world. Sure, there is tax evasion going on (it happens all over the world too, starting with the waitress at your local restaurant who doesn't claim her cash tips), but you are making it sound like that is the only reason someone would want/need an account there, which is completely incorrect. If you don't understand it, then you don't understand it. Because if you did, we would not be having this debate.

whatever man. you are so worldly and know the right way of doing everything. i'll shut up now and resume living and banking in the same country i was born in like a total sucker.

I just read that only 40% is 'overseas' money - That's not a high percentage, I bet there are a lot higher....

:1orglaugh Dude, me and several other people in this thread have tried explaining it to you and have listed several reasons why someone would want an account there, but you don't want to listen. What else can I say?

You said you don't understand, and that is OK. I didn't understand for a long time either until I actually had to deal with opening bank accounts abroad, then I got educated real quick out of necessity. We've tried explaining it and you want to debate our replies to you as if what we are telling you are opinions, however, they are not opinions, they are facts. Cyprus is what it is for a reason and it doesn't matter if you agree with it or not, think it is an unstable country, or don't understand why people bank there, because they do and have been for a long time. There is a reason this is huge news.

People need banks like what Cyprus offers for many reasons, tax evasion is one of those reasons, but not everyone or every company who banks there is doing something illegal, as you think they are. I don't know any other way to say it to make you understand. And this is just from a banking point of view, not the business perk of lower taxes, which is another debate.

I'm not slamming you for not knowing, why should you know about foreign bank accounts if you don't live overseas? You do what you do, people who live elsewhere have to do what they do. It's not a big deal, just know that not everyone who has an account there is trying to hide money.

Any idea how much of that 40% is Russian money?

what is the statement?

and how is it not pressure?