| There is no need to use the many middleman | | | | You are likely to be cheated, possibly by the |
| websites you will find via a search engine. | | | | bank itself. Avoid Latvia! |
| In fact, most of these are *bogus*, even the | | | | |
| slick-looking ones. More and more banks are | | | | 3. Do not give anyone Power Of Attorney. |
| offering offshore internet bank accounts | | | | |
| direct. Just get a list of banks in the | | | | You can kiss your money goodbye. You may have |
| country you're interested in, and go to their | | | | legitimate reasons for not wishing to |
| web sites. | | | | broadcast what you're doing. The problem is: |
| | | | *How can you obscure that you are the owner |
| See the Google Open Directory here: here: the | | | | of the company, or bank account, without |
| list at | | | | losing control of it?* |
| | | | |
| Opening an offshore bank account is like | | | | Don't get too clever, or too greedy. |
| opening one in your high street; meet their | | | | |
| criteria, and you're in. The only difference | | | | 4. Avoid web sites where: |
| is you're not there in person. | | | | |
| | | | The business address is a P.O. Box, or a |
| The first thing is to find out whether they | | | | 'Suite'; |
| will accept citizens or residents of your | | | | |
| country. For example, Swiss banks tend not to | | | | The site is on a free web host; |
| want US customers; they don't want the hassle | | | | |
| from the IRS. | | | | The site is badly translated into English; |
| | | | |
| You will need to prove your identity, and the | | | | You have the sense you are dealing with |
| legal existence of your company, if you wish | | | | Africans or Eastern Europeans; |
| to open an account for it. | | | | |
| | | | The site has not been updated recently e.g. |
| If applying by mail, DO NOT PART WITH | | | | the Copyright reads 2001; |
| ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. Get copies notarised by a | | | | |
| notary public. Originals can be used for | | | | They've only been running for a few years; |
| fraud or identity theft. Or they can get | | | | |
| lost. | | | | They offer a range of dubious products - |
| | | | second passports, citizenships, anonymous |
| A Notary Public is a public officer | | | | debit cards; |
| commissioned by the State to perform notarial | | | | |
| acts. A Notary is an impartial witness. The | | | | You cannot pay via credit card - it's much |
| notary is empowered to issue an apostille. | | | | harder to get refunds on banker's drafts, |
| | | | Western Union and e-Gold etc; |
| Apostille - Is a method of certifying a | | | | |
| document for use in another country pursuant | | | | They require you sign a confidentiality |
| to the 1961 Hague Convention. With this | | | | agreement, or you have the sense you are |
| certification by apostille, a document is | | | | entering quasi-legal or illegal territory. |
| entitled to recognition in the country of | | | | |
| intended use, and no certification or | | | | Bogus offshore banking sites can threaten to |
| legalization by the embassy or consulate of | | | | report you to your tax authority if you |
| the foreign country where the document is to | | | | question their methods. It's an old con |
| be used is required. | | | | trick; get the mark involved in something |
| | | | illegal, then he can't go to the authorities. |
| In practice this means you provide evidence | | | | |
| to this man that you are who you say you are, | | | | How do I know all this? Well, dear reader, |
| and/or that your company is what you say it | | | | let me take you back to 1997, when ecommerce |
| is, and take an oath on the Bible. Oh yes, | | | | was a new word. Merchant accounts were not |
| that's right, it's not a joke. | | | | easily available to individuals in the UK, |
| | | | especially if you wanted to sell intangibles. |
| Due diligence: Banks need to show they have | | | | So I found a website that offered one, with a |
| checked who their customers are, and how they | | | | Latvian bank account, and a company |
| came by their money. | | | | registration in Panama to go with it. The |
| | | | latter was necessary to open the account, or |
| Passport - If you apply by post a notarised | | | | so I was told. This 'package' was on a |
| copy is needed; | | | | 'discount', and cost about $400+. |
| | | | |
| Proof of your economic background - documents | | | | All worked well, until the bank went bust in |
| showing how you earn your money (work | | | | 2001. One sorry fellow reported on Usenet |
| contract, bank statement, tax return, company | | | | that he'd lost $10,000. I lost the sum of |
| documents); | | | | $232 (business was diabolical!). I decided in |
| | | | 2002 to shut down the company, as it cost |
| Proof of the origin of your deposits - | | | | $500 a year in fees to maintain, I was skint, |
| documents showing how you earned your | | | | and I had no real use for it. To de-register |
| deposits. For example if you sell a house, | | | | it cost another $500. Which I paid. Only to |
| proof of the sale, a copy of the estate | | | | find out later that that the middleman |
| agent's listing, etc.; | | | | website hadn't de-registered it, and that the |
| | | | yearly fees to the Panamanian registrar had |
| Information about yourself and your deposits | | | | not been passed on either. |
| - Name, date of birth, address, etc., as well | | | | |
| as how much you plan to deposit on the | | | | Result: No merchant account, and a company in |
| account and what you plan to do with the | | | | bad standing. Total loss: About £2000 GBP. |
| money once it is in the account. | | | | |
| | | | That Latvian bank is open for business again, |
| If opening a company account, you send an | | | | with no mention of their previous collapse on |
| apostilled copy of the certificate of | | | | their website (well, you wouldn't, would |
| incorporation to the bank providing your | | | | you?). |
| account, along with evidence of your | | | | |
| identity, an application form, and any other | | | | The moral of this story? Offshore bank |
| documents they ask for. | | | | accounts and company formations are just like |
| | | | their onshore equivalents; there's no big |
| If you want to get an offshore bank account, | | | | mystery about them. If you want a company |
| *consider visiting the bank in person*. If | | | | formation, contact a local man, who speaks |
| you can, travel to the country in question, | | | | English, in the country of registration. Then |
| and open a bank account there. You probably | | | | use another local man to check what the first |
| live near one tax haven at least. This | | | | one's done. |
| especially applies if you are planning to | | | | |
| deposit large sums; find out who you're | | | | Open your bank account yourself. |
| dealing with! | | | | |
| | | | One last thing: don't think that because your |
| NOTES: | | | | bank account and company are offshore you can |
| | | | do business in your home country, and/or with |
| 1. Don't pay a middleman to open a bank | | | | fellow residents, and avoid taxes there. |
| account for you. See above. | | | | You'll find plenty of websites that'll |
| | | | purport to help you, right up until the time |
| 2. Do not use services which offer bank | | | | you get a small brown envelope from your |
| accounts in Eastern European countries. | | | | country's tax inspectors, inviting you in for |
| | | | a little chat. |