Posted on 03/23/2013 10:38:24 PM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
LIMASSOL, Cyprus Andreas Marangos, a Porsche-driving lawyer here, had just woken up when he heard the news that threatened to destroy his and Cypruss most lucrative business: setting up shell companies and providing financial services for wealthy Russians.
He rushed to his computer to check whether the crazy talk he had just heard was true that his government had agreed last week to effectively confiscate 9.9 percent of the wealth of anyone holding more than 100,000 euros, about $129,000, in a Cyprus bank.
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There is a clear danger of this area becoming a platform for confrontation between East and West, said Harry Tzimitras, director of PRIO Cyprus Centre, a research center in the capital, Nicosia.
Cyprus has until now frozen out Russian interests from offshore gas concessions, snubbing a low bid by Novatek, a Russian company whose directors include Gennady Timchenko, a wealthy oil trader and judo club acquaintance of President Vladimir V. Putins. In talks last week in Moscow over a possible loan to Cyprus, Russia made clear that it expected a piece of the gas pie for its own companies, according to Cypriot officials and politicians.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Cyprus is a good tax haven.... that and the island’s gorgeous sun-kissed views are its main attractions.
Cyprus is WAS a good tax haven.... that and the islands gorgeous sun-kissed views are WERE its main attractions.
” the islands gorgeous sun-kissed views are its main attractions.”
Any pics of these, uh, sun-kissed views :) ?
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