ECB: cannot help Cypriot banks after Monday unless European-IMF aid program in place

[CincyDem]

27. Don't discount Russia's role in all of this

If this were just about the average "cypriot on the street" this would be no big deal. The issue is that these banks got in trouble because they're effectively running a state sponsored money laundering scheme for Russia's elite. The bulk of these restrictions aren't going to adversely impact the average cypriot. They're a message from the ECM that says we aren't going to bail out the Russian oligarchy.

They sound onerous but just take the first one. Restrictions in daily withdrawals. What is means is that you can only draw the equivalent of $335/day from your account. That's different from paying bills - that's cash over the counter. There's nothing about how you spend your money to live your life.

I don't know about you guys but I don't know many people that would consider being "limited" to only cashing out $335/day to be a hardship. In fact, the average American could only last about 12 days before running out of money in their account.

All of this is revolves around the fact that Cyprus has been the banking system of choice to launder money and these measures are designed to limit the risk to Cypriots that come from how their bankers have allowed their system to be invaded and compromised.

Explains why Russia has "not ruled out" stepping in to provide the liquidity requirements should the ECB decide against it.

Guys - this is what 21st century warfare really looks like. This is Russia versus the ECB and the battlefield is Cyprus. It will be interesting to see who blinks first.