Urban decay

The Greek Police said on Monday that they had smashed a large international drug trafficking racket following the arrest of 15 suspected members and the confiscation of nearly 700 kilograms of cannabis.

Police hailed the largest gang "takedown" in New York history April 27 after a major operation snared 120 people from two rival street gangs that brought murder to the city and the United States.
 

Mortgage holders who fail to pay off their mortgage loans face foreclosure. 30,000 owners of non-performing loans received an ultimatum from banks. Specifically they were issued warnings to pay up their loans or else they would receive notification of foreclosure.

250,000 properties are under threat following the voting of measures in the mult-bill that was adopted by Greek Parliament on Tuesday, December 15. Mortgaged properties are now in danger of heading to distress funds in a new round of negotiations due to take place in February to discuss:

– mortgage loans for first homes;

Main opposition New Democracy (ND) leader Evangelos Meimarakis attacked the government on the omnibus bill of non performing loans which was “submitted in the middle of the night on emergency procedure after agreeing with the lenders on its translation”.

The moment of truth has arrived for foreclosures of private homes that are mortgaged and changes to the scheme for debt settlement in 100 installments.

Greece’s government took another baby step away from home owners in danger of losing their primary residence in the hope of reaching a compromise deal with creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank, European Stability Mechanism and International Monetary Fund.

Failure to secure the 2-billion-euro tranche benchmarked for Greece at Monday’s Eurogroup, means its back to meetings with representatives of four international creditors from the European Commission, European Central Bank, European Stability Mechanism and the International Monetary Fund.

The Greek Ministry of Development is close to locking in its deal with Greece’s international creditors (EC, ECB, IMF, ESM) concerning the protection of primary residences from foreclosure. The agreement is expected to bring respite to thousands of households – known as “red” borrowers – that are struggling with mortgage debt.

On Monday, November 2, all acts ceased as a result of capital controls – such as foreclosures of homes as part of debt collection – will once again swing into action according to a decree by the Ministry of Justice, Transparency and Human Rights.