Cyprus Faces Greek Investor's Lawsuit

Approximately 100 Greek investors believe they have lost 50 million euros or more, who are all bondholders or depositors in the Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank, as reported by Parikiaki.  On Monday, a notice of a class claim dispute was filed by Grant & Eisenhofer, Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check, Kyros Law, and Volterra Fietta.

Grant & Eisenhofer co-managing director Jay Eisenhofer described, "This is the first time that the bilateral treaty will be tested as a class action for investors who have suffered losses stemming from the European financial crisis, which gripped Greece and Cyprus particularly hard...We believe strongly in the merits of the aggrieved investors' claims as a class, and will be working closely with Kyros Law and Volterra Fietta to recover their lost funds".

The co-managing director added, "The unfair terms of the revised bailout agreed between Cyprus and the Troika targeted and discriminated against Greek investors who placed their money and trust in Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank...Notably, foreign investors made up the bulk of depositors in these two banks. Considering how Cyprus long marketed itself as a tax haven, and had attracted many international investors, the government's abrupt U-turn and inequitable conduct toward investor funds takes on an even more egregious pall".

Kyros Law managing partner John Kyriakopoulos declared, "The Cyprus government wrongfully deprived many Greek investors of their property and treated them unfairly as a result of the 2012-2013 crisis. Not only that, none of the bailout funds will be used to assist the recapitalisation of the Bank of Cyprus. Instead, shareholders — many of them former Laiki Bank depositors — as well as bondholders and depositors are bearing the entire burden of recapitalisation."

(Source: www.parikiaki.com)