Russia bans 80,000 borrowers from travelling abroad

Russia bans 80,000 borrowers from travelling abroad

uk.reuters.com

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian bailiffs have recovered millions of rubles in debt from delinquent borrowers by barring them from traveling abroad until they pay up.

Government bailiffs said they had signed orders for 82,000 foreign travel bans and recovered almost 800 million roubles (17 million pounds) from debtors -- some of whom only found out when they arrived at the border with their bags packed.

(visit the link for the full news article)

So as the world's economy slowly grinds to a halt, with Banks being given huge bailouts and yet, still spending money like it was going out of fashion, leaving the poor to fend for themselves.

Most working class people are born 'into-debt', its a way of life for most, so having a holiday should not be considered illegal or immoral as the article states.

"Federal Bailiff Service Director Artur Parfenchikov said.

"If someone can't keep up his payments on a $100,000 debt and then buys a package tour to Thailand ... that's not just illegal, it's immoral," he told a briefing in Moscow."

Could this happen in the west? Is it right to impose this kind of measure on people that look forward to taking a holiday as a break from their working lives. Is this the sign of the times to come I wonder?.

uk.reuters.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

reply to post by Freelancer


Poor Russians, I cant imagine the horror of getting ready for vacation, getting to the boarder, then finding out you owe someone abunch of money and you cant travel out of the country!

reply to post by Freelancer


this was good idea, people could try to run away from accountability and responsibility , and Russia shows it will not tolerate this ...
unlike the USA which rewarded the criminal executives in citibank who should be thrown into jail etc..

[edit on 28-1-2009 by sadchild01]

Well, i must add here that the new law regulation will be in effect from february, 1st

The decision on prohibiting to go abroad will be made by court, and the bailiffs should inform the person about it. The debtor has 10 days to appeal. But such prohibition can be sent to the customs and without notification in case, the bailiffs cant find the person within two months.
Th term of prohibitin is 6 months. After the end of 6 months, the bailiff should inform the customs about the liftin of ban...

especially it works well in case of the men who evade paying alimony)





[edit on 28-1-2009 by Russi]

Starred and Flagged

If it can happen there, it can happen here. I think the likelihood of this happening in the West largely depends on how successful this "program" is for Russia. I gotta be honest with you, if I wasn't allowed to leave my country until my student loan was paid off I would quickly make paying it off a top priority.

If you have any common sense what so ever, you tend to have a pretty good idea of what you owe to who. yes, some people are born into debt. But they arent usually the ones who go jet setting to Prague, or have wine tastings in France.

While i think it is bad that Russia is telling people what they can and cant do, I think its pretty ballsy that they stuck up for the people who are owed a payment that would otherwise never be repaid.

From the source:

Russia has long been forced to use unusual measures to reclaim debts as its legal system often favours poorer borrowers over their lenders, said Richard Hainsworth, director of RusRating, a credit agency in Moscow.

Russian authorities have posted the names of people with unpaid bills on billboards in recent years to shame them into paying.

[edit on 28-1-2009 by drsmooth23]

\Russian authorities have posted the names of people with unpaid bills on billboards in recent years to shame them into paying.\

Well, i saw the lists, and can assure you that the names there are the names of well-known rich people

reply to post by Freelancer


From what I read it said the fellow defaulted on his contract due to not making payments on his debt as scheduled.

Having debt is one thing, it is encouraged in the U.S. (unfortunately)

But if you have missed or are behind payments and go on holiday instead of squaring up with your creditors, then yes that is not only wrong, it is stupid in my opinion. Immoral? well, that depends on your morals.

But to be denied travel across borders simply for having debt is silly. It's not like you can take your assets/debt with you. They will still be there for the banksters to seize.

While the Russian 'program' may at first glance 'seem' a positive step towards making sure those owed money get their money back, much of the debts will most certainly lead towards the Banks / Credit Card services through the issuing of loans and mortgages etc.

Is it right therefore to penalize people into repaying these debts when the Banks themselves have been given huge sums of finances to keep them operating. If holidays are considered "illegal and immoral" then what is there to stop this "program" being upped a level to include the buying of so called "luxury" goods.

They kind of do have something similar in place in the United States. I believe that they restrict Visas and passports to dead beat parents who have outstanding child support payments due. Not exactly the same, but still in the ballpark of unpaid debt & international travel.