My bank account's got robbed by European Commission. Over 700k is lost.

[DhaniBoy]

I wonder these things can happen at the famous bank, reputable bank should have a good security system and safe, to ensure the trust of its customers save money in the bank, and if this happens by mistake bank's security system, then the bank should replace all missing funds, hopefully
missing funds can be replaced ... 

[BCEmporium]

I wonder these things can happen at the famous bank, reputable bank should have a good security system and safe, to ensure the trust of its customers save money in the bank, and if this happens by mistake bank's security system, then the bank should replace all missing funds, hopefully
missing funds can be replaced ... 

This can happen with ANY bank, even state banks.
Because banks "create money" out of thin air, the so called fractional reserve, when it becomes noticed is usually too late and unless you don't mind to be paid in bricks and billboards, funds can't be replaced - or "can" but with taxpayers money.

[molecular]

I wonder these things can happen at the famous bank, reputable bank should have a good security system and safe, to ensure the trust of its customers save money in the bank, and if this happens by mistake bank's security system, then the bank should replace all missing funds, hopefully
missing funds can be replaced ... 

This can happen with ANY bank, even state banks.
Because banks "create money" out of thin air, the so called fractional reserve, when it becomes noticed is usually too late and unless you don't mind to be paid in bricks and billboards, funds can't be replaced - or "can" but with taxpayers money.

Yes. Note most recent bail-in case of Austrian state bank hypo alpe Adria. Might turn out to be partly bail-in as bondholder world bank will sue and might win. Not sure about deposits in this case.

[chrisf]

http://s12.postimg.org/yt2wefvot/popularbank2.png

The most of circulating assets on our business Current Account are blocked.
Over 700k of expropriated money will be used to repay country's debt. Probably we will get back about 20% of this amount in 6-7 years.

I'm not Russian oligarch, but just European medium size IT business. Thousands of other companies around Cyprus have the same situation.

The business is definitely ruined, all Cypriot workers to be fired.
We are moving to small Caribbean country where authorities have more respect to people's assets. Also we are thinking about using Bitcoin to pay wages and for payments between our partners.

Special thanks to:

- Jeroen Dijsselbloem
- Angela Merkel
- Manuel Barroso
- the rest of officials of "European Comission"



P.S. The worst thing is, that even a month ago I was suspecting that things can go wrong. In February, I several times called my banker and lawyer and asked them if money on the account is safe, mentioning that article in Financial Times. But they convinced me that there is no reason to worry, and even if country goes default, in no way current accounts may be affected. "This is European Union and banks here can't just grab your money and go" I was told.
I got a hard lesson and now I know the meaning of phrase "TRUST NO ONE".


[ 2013-04-01 11:32:19 PM Update ]

Deposits under €100,000 in Laiki will be transferred to the BoC. All deposits belonging to credit institutions, insurance companies, the government and other public bodies such as local authorities and municipal councils will also be carried over to the BoC. The same applies for charity foundations, schools and educational bodies and deposits belonging to the country’s main bank card transaction agency, JCC Payment Systems Ltd. Depositors who move from Laiki to the BoC are not part of the haircut.
The deposits that will not be transferred to the BoC will be part of a bad bank that will undergo resolution, i.e. an orderly wind down. Although the money will be there nominally, depositors will not have access to their money for an indefinite amount of time. As the bad bank slowly starts tidying up its account books cash would start going into the accounts, but the depositors could lose a substantial part of their savings if the bad bank fails to fully recoup all of its bad assets, as expected by analysts.

Source: cyprus-mail.com

Now we have untouchables whose accounts in Laiki Bank are not affected. This means that money expropriated from regular business, current and savings accounts will sponsor all other "tax exempt" accounts.

[ 2013-04-02 05:32:24 PM Update ]

I have news from a law company who are now working on class action lawsuit filed by the depositors of Laiki Popular Bank and The Bank of Cyprus.
At this moment they are gathering information from affected account holders with over 100k EUR amounts and looking for legal grounds to appeal the seizure of funds.

Our attorney assumes that, with the current situation, it is most likely that the depositors of Laiki Bank will eventually lose 100% of any amount over 100K EUR.
Although legal research is not yet finished, lawyers suspect that the whole situation with bailout is contrary to the constitution of Cyprus and the European Declaration of Human Rights.
We have already had precedents where local Cypriot lawyers backed by influential business figures have already won some small victories.

I'm asking everyone, who has affected account in Laiki Bank or The Bank Of Cyprus, to contact me regarding participation in the class action by sending me private message.

[ 2013-04-04 07:37:24 AM Update ]

Central Bank could face slew of lawsuits from depositors

LARGE depositors in Laiki Bank who face losing most if not all their money have warned they will take the Central Bank’s top brass to court if even one cent is taken out of their accounts.

The threat of legal action raises the spectre of the bailout programme unravelling in the courts, and slapping the state with massive sums in penalties.  

A lawyer representing a number of large depositors sent a letter to Central Bank Governor Panicos Demetriades last Thursday warning that if a haircut of any size was imposed on their deposits held at Laiki Bank, depositors will file a private criminal case against the governor, board members, and certain CB officials for allegedly committing “a number of criminal acts and omissions”.

[ 2013-04-10 06:41:50 AM Update ]
Today I've sold another part of my bitcoins and now I have money enough to completely pay off all our debts to customers and contractors.
Thanks to Lady Luck and Satoshi Nakamoto for the resurrection of my business!

I'm so inspired with bitcoin that I'm thinking about launching serious bitcoin related business project. Will announce it soon.



[ 2013-05-30 09:22:23 PM Update ]
The stealing of my money is now finalized.

Yesterday I looked at my Laiki account and found that frozen amount is not more shown on my balance.
100% of frozen funds is now appears as outgoing transaction to nobody with comment "DECREE".

Also there are some news from lawyers.

The Supreme Court has not announced its decision yet. It examines preliminary objections raised by the Attorney on a basis that the Law and the Order are political acts of the state (like decision to start war) and therefore cannot be examined or controlled by the Supreme Court and that the matter in issue should be considered as a private and not a public law matter.

Also, there is recent translation of the "Capital Controls imposing DECREE"



[ 2013-07-10 10:49:23 PM Update ]
"Blocked Funds" amount has finally disappeared from our Laiki account. Bank told me it's "waived" (their interpretation of word "stolen"). We won't receive any bank shares as compensation for confiscated amount since the bank is liquidated.
The rest of the money (100k EUR) are still subject to Capital Control and we can only transfer 5K monthly.

Today I had a conversation with a manager from Laiki Bank.
He has been honest and confirmed that we may forget about anything over 100K as it's already spent to pay country's debts. Also, I was warned that the financial situation in the country is getting worse and worse and we should be ready to lose even part of insured (under 100K) money during this year (this is why they keep capital control enforced).

By the way, this style of "bank restructuring" is going to be adopted in the whole European Union.
Soon, everyone's uninsured money (over 100K EUR) in EU banks will be at risk of seizure.



/the material in this post can be used on any resources without any restrictions/

[BTCXE]

Wow... Reading through this I feel really sorry for OP and all those affected. Do you feel that there is any way to protect yourself against raids like these ? Does this mean your BTC and other cryptocurrencies safer in your wallets ?

[cr1776]

Wow... Reading through this I feel really sorry for OP and all those affected. Do you feel that there is any way to protect yourself against raids like these ? Does this mean your BTC and other cryptocurrencies safer in your wallets ?

Have some bitcoin, precious metals. Don't keep much money in an account. 

A problem is that ZD had a business account and was using that money to run a business so he was stuck when the statist authoritarians seized his working capital.                                                         

You can always do as he did - move to a safer jurisdiction in the Caribbean.
 

[cryptopaths]

Wow... Reading through this I feel really sorry for OP and all those affected. Do you feel that there is any way to protect yourself against raids like these ? Does this mean your BTC and other cryptocurrencies safer in your wallets ?

Once a raid like that starts and you have money in a bank account you're basically fucked. And yes of course your crypto is safer in your wallet.

[BTCXE]

well that sucks... considering that bitcoin is no longer the "currency of silk road", its a shame there still a lot of ambiguity on the political stance of most countries. And with regards to keeping crypto locked in wallets, can't make an omlette if the eggs are still in the basket

[ScreamnShout]

Wow... Reading through this I feel really sorry for OP and all those affected. Do you feel that there is any way to protect yourself against raids like these ? Does this mean your BTC and other cryptocurrencies safer in your wallets ?

Don't keep that much money in the bank at a country that is going through a financial crisis whose government is overwhelmed with debt.

Note that this thread is ~18 months old, however I think it is note-able because it essentially what was behind the bubble of early 2013 which is likely what was behind the massive popularity of bitcoin today (what was behind the OP was what likely caused the bubble up to ~$250)

[Wekkel]

I think this article fits this thread: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-12/russell-napier-declares-november-16-2014-day-money-dies

Summary: the upcoming G20 meeting in Australia is supposed to bring new rules on the ranking of bank deposits. By all means bail-in-able in case of bank trouble, leading to the question: why hold money in a bank account instead of cash?

[pinky]

I think this article fits this thread: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-12/russell-napier-declares-november-16-2014-day-money-dies

Summary: the upcoming G20 meeting in Australia is supposed to bring new rules on the ranking of bank deposits. By all means bail-in-able in case of bank trouble, leading to the question: why hold money in a bank account instead of cash?

I guess Cyprus was only a experiment how people will react - nobody got killed, so everything is OK. Worldwide implementation may continue.

[leopard2]

AND SOME PEOPLE HERE COMPLAIN ABOUT VIRCUREX 

Really guys, how can anybody trust government bonds anymore after Greece, Hydro Alpe Adria and so on....

Note that bank deposit insurance schemes are pointless. The 100 000 number means nothing. Just one small to mid size bank can be covered by these schemes; but in a crisis there will be several banks and AFAIK the money in the scheme is roughly 1/10 of a percent of all deposits in a region

Putting money in a bank is like putting it in an exchange; it can be seized or frozen or just gone at any time. 

[murraypaul]

Note that bank deposit insurance schemes are pointless. The 100 000 number means nothing. Just one small to mid size bank can be covered by these schemes; but in a crisis there will be several banks and AFAIK the money in the scheme is roughly 1/10 of a percent of all deposits in a region

The US deposit protection scheme does run like that, where there is a defined fund to pay out, and the possibility of exhausting it.
Other countries, such as the UK, do not have a limited fund. All deposits are guaranteed up to the insured limit.

[BootstrapCoinDev]

AND SOME PEOPLE HERE COMPLAIN ABOUT VIRCUREX 

Really guys, how can anybody trust government bonds anymore after Greece, Hydro Alpe Adria and so on....

Note that bank deposit insurance schemes are pointless. The 100 000 number means nothing. Just one small to mid size bank can be covered by these schemes; but in a crisis there will be several banks and AFAIK the money in the scheme is roughly 1/10 of a percent of all deposits in a region

Putting money in a bank is like putting it in an exchange; it can be seized or frozen or just gone at any time. 

When you actually visit a bank (instead of simply using online banking) you do that for reasons that don't even apply to the Bitcoin world.
This chart is witless fanboyism.

[spy100]

sry for you

[molecular]

AND SOME PEOPLE HERE COMPLAIN ABOUT VIRCUREX 

Really guys, how can anybody trust government bonds anymore after Greece, Hydro Hypo Alpe Adria and so on....

Note that bank deposit insurance schemes are pointless. The 100 000 number means nothing. Just one small to mid size bank can be covered by these schemes; but in a crisis there will be several banks and AFAIK the money in the scheme is roughly 1/10 of a percent of all deposits in a region

Putting money in a bank is like putting it in an exchange; it can be seized or frozen or just gone at any time. 

Corrected the name of that austrian bank so people can google it.

Your points are correct, though

[darkmule]

The US deposit protection scheme does run like that, where there is a defined fund to pay out, and the possibility of exhausting it.
Other countries, such as the UK, do not have a limited fund. All deposits are guaranteed up to the insured limit.

You can say you have an unlimited fund, but actually paying out on it in the instance of a worst-case catastrophe may not always be possible.

[cr1776]

The US deposit protection scheme does run like that, where there is a defined fund to pay out, and the possibility of exhausting it.
Other countries, such as the UK, do not have a limited fund. All deposits are guaranteed up to the insured limit.

You can say you have an unlimited fund, but actually paying out on it in the instance of a worst-case catastrophe may not always be possible.

Or if it is possible to cover them, it may be due to printing currency and the value of the currency they pay you in may be 10% of the pre-bailout value.

[cr1776]

Impose capital controls in Greece or repeat the mistake of Cyprus

Check this article out today:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/607c4bd4-b5e9-11e4-a577-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl#axzz3S0aNG78l

By Hans-Werner Sinn

Another crisis, another insidious bout of capital flight. In Greece today, as in Cyprus three years ago, depositors are withdrawing bundles of euro notes to be spirited out of the country. Most of all, investors are rushing to make electronic transfers to banks elsewhere in the eurozone. In December 2014 alone, €7.6bn were sent abroad, equivalent to about 4 per cent of Greece’s economic output.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/607c4bd4-b5e9-11e4-a577-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3S0aqWrE8

In 2012, Cyprus was in a similar bind. Wealthy Cypriots (and foreigners who had deposits there) tried to whisk their funds to safer places, draining liquidity from the island’s banks and threatening them with insolvency.

The Cypriot central bank kept the system afloat by lending out €11bn of newly created money under a protocol known as Emergency Liquidity Assistance. These funds were in effect borrowed from other eurozone central banks, which put euros into the new accounts outside Cyprus that were being set up by fleeing investors.
...

[600watt]

Impose capital controls in Greece or repeat the mistake of Cyprus

Check this article out today:
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/607c4bd4-b5e9-11e4-a577-00144feab7de.html?siteedition=intl#axzz3S0aNG78l

By Hans-Werner Sinn

Another crisis, another insidious bout of capital flight. In Greece today, as in Cyprus three years ago, depositors are withdrawing bundles of euro notes to be spirited out of the country. Most of all, investors are rushing to make electronic transfers to banks elsewhere in the eurozone. In December 2014 alone, €7.6bn were sent abroad, equivalent to about 4 per cent of Greece’s economic output.

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/607c4bd4-b5e9-11e4-a577-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3S0aqWrE8

In 2012, Cyprus was in a similar bind. Wealthy Cypriots (and foreigners who had deposits there) tried to whisk their funds to safer places, draining liquidity from the island’s banks and threatening them with insolvency.

The Cypriot central bank kept the system afloat by lending out €11bn of newly created money under a protocol known as Emergency Liquidity Assistance. These funds were in effect borrowed from other eurozone central banks, which put euros into the new accounts outside Cyprus that were being set up by fleeing investors.
...

mr sinn is a hardcore neoliberal idiot.