Putin: Cyprus Deposit Tax "Unfair"

Russia's President Vladimir Putin called on Monday the proposed Cyprus levy on banking deposits "unfair, unprofessional and dangerous," his spokesman Dmitry Peskov quoted the president as saying. Peskov said that Putin held a special meeting on Monday to discuss developments in the debt-stricken Cyprus. "Assessing the possible decision of imposing additional tax by Cyprus on deposits Putin said that this decision, if taken, would be unfair, unprofessional and dangerous," Peskov told Reuters. A proposal to levy a 6.75% tax on deposits of up to 100,000 euros ($130,738), and 9.9% above that, as part of a euro-zone bailout of Cyprus would be felt sharply by Russian financial institutions and companies which have large footholds on the island. According to Moody's Investors Service estimates, Russian residents and institutions could lose around $2 billion if Cyprus goes ahead with this proposal. Russia's stock markets tumbled Monday on the news, with the Moscow Exchange declining 2.4% by 0848 GMT and the dollar-denominated RTS exchange slipping 3.0%.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/18/russia-putin-cyprus-idUSL6N0CA33I20130318
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/putin-spokesman-cyprus-tax-unfair-dangerous-2013-03-18

UPDATE:
Medvedev: New Cyprus tax "looks like confiscation"
http://ria.ru/world/20130318/927811860.html