... in response to Russian Banks, posted by Peter Ryan on Mar 24, 2003[This message has been edited by Lynn]
I'm afraid you will have little success in that fight unless you know someone with a lot of pull. I haven't done a in-depth study on this particular bank, but judging from the fact that Russia's monetary system is deeply involved with the IMF and the World Bank, their banking system is just like our Federal Reserve----rotten to the core and no more backed by their government than the Fed is here----the perception of trustworthiness and the apparent backing by the government fools most people into a false sense of security.
Not meaning to be too critical, but your first mistake was to make the money appear as a giant blip on the bank/government's radar screen. A better scenario would have been to do the visa debit card deal for the money and not make it so apparent that the money was a gift. For just half a chance, the tax people in the FSU will be all over anyone that appears to have alternate sources of income and are not with the mafia.
3 or 2cts. from Dixie
Lynn
