The other day I posted a short piece about my adventure at the bank and the topic of money laundering came up and it was pretty obvious that this is a mysterious subject that’s not well understood. If you’re one of those people who don’t understand money laundering (in Romanian it’s called “spalare” or “washing” of money), don’t feel bad. There’s a famous scene in … Continue reading Money Laundering for Beginners
I wasn’t even going to write about this until I nearly fell out of my chair laughing as I saw that it’s now an international story. If you prefer video, click here for the Euronews report (in English) or click here for the TVR report (in Romanian). If you prefer print, here’s Mediafax, here’s Adevarul, here’s Wall Street (Romanian), here’s Ziare.com, here’s Transilvania Reporter (with … Continue reading Gypsies 2, Journalists 0
An associate of mine is out of town at the moment and asked me to go to the bank and pay off a small debt that they had, and promised to repay me upon their return. I said, “Sure, no problem.” [[Fast forward to inside bank]] “Hello, friendly lady at the teller window,” I said. “I came to give you money to put in blah-blah-blah’s … Continue reading Romania, where not even the banks understand capitalism
After a week in which Ponta threatened to resign from politics after this year’s presidential elections, a statement which nobody believed, a statement which Crin Antonescu mocked, a statement which Elena Udrea decoded, a statement which Ponta himself hinted had secret layers of meaning, he then went on Antena 3 last night and said that the whole thing was a warning that if the people … Continue reading Angel Rebelde
If you ask most Romanians what they think of Moldova, you’ll get the impression that they consider their smaller neighbor to be a beloved but backwards member of the family, the bucktoothed cousin who is awkward and unsophisticated but still loved and accepted because they’re kin. The other day I was speaking to someone about some of the themes covered in Incompetence on Every Level … Continue reading Un mare pas înainte
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