Putin: Deposit levy unfair, unprofessional, dangerous

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday morning held a meeting with senior presidential administration officials, aides and advisers to discuss the economic situation in the euro zone, his press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters. According to Peskov, Putin at the meeting reiterated that Russia is interested in de-offshorization of economy and absolutely transparent and clear economic conditions everywhere for nobody to have an opportunity to evade tax payment and hide incomes. Putin said about this earlier in his address to the Federal Assembly. Assessing the decision to impose a levy on deposits in Cyprus, Putin said the decision if approved was unfair, unprofessional and dangerous. As was earlier reported, Cyprus's authorities at the Eurogroup meeting in Brussels on Saturday morning agreed on the unprecedented terms for a loan to be provided to save Cyprus from default. The decision has shocked Cypriots, depositors who have accounts in banks in Cyprus, investors and experts. It suggests forcing deposit holders to finance the anti-crisis programme. There were no such measures in euro zone countries before. It will undoubtedly cause outflow of capitals from Cyprus, shake confidence of investors in the entire euro zone and can provoke a new wave of the crisis in Europe. For Cyprus, the decision will mean an end of the dream to create an international investment centre and an economic model based on providing of financial and legal services for local and foreign companies and individuals, which accounted for up to 80 percent of the republic's GDP.