Cyprus: Russian dirty money

Measures taken after Cyprus asked for a EU bailout, 

has shocked the financial world and stock markets worldwide.

Fear has taken over in countries like Portugal with weak economies 

and under international aid programmes. Spain and Italy

are also especially vunerable.

Bondholders, taxpayers, and others have made big sacrifices

 over the past three years to help rescue wobbly banks 

and bring Europe’s debt crisis under control. 

But until now, no one had suggested 

that bank depositors take a haircut.

Russian banks and companies have $31 billion in Cypriot banks, 

according to estimates by Moody’s Investor Services (MCO). 

And there’s evidence that Russian money 

is sometimes laundered there. 

Millions of dollars stolen from the Russian treasury 

in a tax fraud uncovered by attorney Sergei Magnitsky 

were later traced to Cyprus bank accounts. 

- Bloomberg Business Week

According to Joachim Fels, chief economist at Morgan Stanley in London,

the plan by Cyprus to deduct a precentage on all bank deposits, 

is a "worrying precedent with potentially sistemic consequences". 

Cyprus have allowed Russians to bank ten of billion euros 

in its banks without asking any questions.

Much of it is dirty money 

used for money laundering by Russian mafias.