Those selling safes are cashing in on Greece’s financial uncertainty

ATMs are running empty, petrol pumps are dry and shopping malls are deserted. But there is one business that is thriving amid Greece’s financial uncertainty.

Protesters participate in a demonstration calling for a "No" vote in the forthcoming referendum on bailout conditions set by the country's creditors, in front of the Greek parliament in Athens on June 29, 2015. Greece shut its banks and the stock market and imposed capital controls after creditors at the weekend refused to extend the country's bailout past the June 30 deadline, prompting anxious citizens to empty ATM's. AFP PHOTO / ARIS MESSINIS

GREECE is teetering on the brink of financial chaos. But as uncertainty and turmoil grip the country, one business is thriving in the troubled times.

Petrol pumps are dry, market places are all but empty, and the government has placed a €60 per-day limit on ATM withdrawals for all citizens, but those selling home safes are making a killing.

George Moschopoulos has been selling safes for forty years and he says business is booming.

Situated in a shopping plaza off Lekka Street in central Athens and surrounded by empty shops, Mr Moschopoulos’s store has been teeming with people trying to find somewhere secure to stash their cash.

A notice at a petrol station reads "NO Fuel" on June 29, 2015.

The circumstances unfolding in Greece, which have their origins in the global financial crisis of 2008 and will effectively culminate in a weekend referendum on whether the country should default on its debts, have created a seller’s market for Mr Moschopoulos.

“If you stuff your money in the mattress, it’s a thousand per cent certain you will get robbed,” he told Time Magazine.

While somewhat overstated, according to national statistics, there is some truth to Mr Moschopoulos’ declaration.

Figures from Eurostat show Greece had the worst jump in domestic burglaries of any EU member in the years following the financial crisis. In 2012, the most recent year Eurostat published data, Greek authorities recorded almost 88,000 cases of burglary. A 76 per cent increase from five years earlier.

The case of one elderly couple who had their entire life savings of €80,000 stolen by home invaders earlier this year illustrates the danger faced by those stashing their savings at home.

The only problem is Greeks are becoming increasing suspicious of banks and the government that controls them — a fear that was likely exacerbated by the forced closure of all banks this week.

Security deposit boxes at banks offer a safe alternative to the product Mr Moschopoulos is selling, but there’s no certainty.

“There’s always the chance that some law will get passed to investigate what’s inside all those boxes, and they could all be frozen,” he told Time.

The must-have asset in Greece right now.

The events which have been unfolding in Greece recently means a safe is the must-have asset for the family home. And Mr Moschopoulos couldn’t be happier about it.

“Cash is king”, denotes an old adage, and a king needs to be secure. In Greece lately, the safe-selling business is about as secure as it gets.

So if I were doing business in #Greece right now, I'd be selling safes, because that's where am told it's safest to stash cash #crisis #euro

— Nina-Maria Potts (@NinaMariaPotts) January 9, 2012