On
HSBC Greek Tax
Evasion, IMF
Passes Buck to
France, Stalls
on Sri
Lanka
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
November 1, updated
-- Amid the
HSBC Greek tax
evasions
scandal
occasioned by
a list
transmitted by
Christine
Lagarde when
she was
French finance
minister, the
International
Monetary Fund
was asked on
Thursday to
comment on the
list, since
Lagarde is now
IMF managing
director.
The list has
the names of
2,059 Greek
depositors in
HSBC's bank in
Switzerland.
Journalist
Costas
Vaxevanis has
been
threatened
with two years
in prison for
publishing it.
(See Update
below.)
Spokesman
Gerry
Rice declined
to comment on
the list,
saying the
question
should be
directed to
the
French Finance
Ministry. He
added that of
course the
well off
should
pay their fair
share.
But
in Portugal,
the IMF
demanded law
is under legal
fire pursuant
to
that country's
constitution,
as unfairly
impacting the
poor. So which
is it, with
the IMF?
Inner
City Press
asked, and
has been
promised
post-deadline
responses
which will be
published
below,
the following
questions:
On
Portugal, what
is the IMF's
response to
claims there
that laws
described as
IMF demanded
violate the
constitution
as
disproportionately
impacting the
poor?
On
Serbia, what
is the IMF's
role in and
comment on
moves to amend
the
Central Bank
law?
On
Sri Lanka, the
2013 budget
has $2.2
billion for
defense /
"urban
development,"
a 26% increase
over 2012.
Given past
IMF statements
on Sri Lanka's
defense
spending,
what is IMF
comment now?
On
this last, Sri
Lanka's
"Universal
Periodic
Review" began
in
Geneva
simultaneous
with Rice's
briefing at
the IMF in
Washington.
We'll have
more on this.
Watch this
site.
Update:
by 1 pm, the
IMF had sent
these two:
On
Serbia, our
latest views
are summarized
in the
end-of-mission
statement that
we published
in September:
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2012/pr12313.htm
“In the
monetary area,
the mission
welcomes the
authorities’
intention to
maintain the
inflation-targeting
regime needed
for
macroeconomic
stability. The
mission
emphasized the
need for
corrective
measures to
help
strengthen NBS
autonomy,
which has been
eroded by
recent changes
to the NBS
law.”
On Sri Lanka:
“The 2013
budget is
expected
to be
finalized and
presented in
early November
(we understand
November 8).
We have not
yet seen the
2013 budget,
and thus would
not be in a
position to
comment at
this time.”
Update
of 4:40 pm --
while the IMF
four hours
ago, along
with these
answers, said
a response on
Portugal would
be sent
shortly, it
has not been.
Meanwhile for
now Costas
Vaxevanis
(a/k/a/ Kostas
Vaxvanis) has
been cleared
of publishing
the Lagarde
List. Watch
this site.
, 
