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"From today, capital controls are a thing of the past,"
Mitsotakis told lawmakers.
Athens imposed capital controls in June 2015, when Greece's
government had come to the end of its bailout extension period
without agreeing on a further extension with its creditors.
The restrictions have been gradually eased since then. The cap
on cash withdrawals was fully lifted in October 2018. But limits
on money transfers abroad still remained.
The newly elected conservative government has been keen to move
swiftly to reassure markets that it intends to adopt
business-friendly policies to attract investment, key to boost
Greece's economic recovery.
Athens had imposed the capital controls as Greece was embroiled
in dispute with its lenders over bailout terms and its banks
were bleeding cash.
At the time, the European Central Bank decided to pull the plug
on emergency funding to Greek lenders, forcing a three week
shutdown of banks and a 60 euro per day cap on cash machine
withdrawals.
Finance Minister Christos Staikouras told lawmakers he would
submit legislation to fully lift the restrictions effective
Sept. 1.
(Reporting by George Georgiopoulos; Editing by Alison Williams)
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