Everybody knows that offshore jurisdictions are not created equally. In fact, once good jurisdictions like the Bahamas can change overnight. Once the Bahamas had strong bank secrecy. After pressure from the United States and other onshore players, they amended their banking laws making them almost completely useless for asset protection and anonymity.
The Government of Switzerland has changed the Swiss banking laws to such an extent that no one can really take Switzerland serious as an offshore banking jurisdiction. In fact, in spite of the fact that Swiss bankers still have their noses high in the air, with huge initial deposit requirements, the anonymity factor has been largely eliminated.
Most industry analysts now agree that Panama is the country of choice when making an offshore banking and asset protection plan. Government stability combined with strong privacy laws that are enforced in practice, give peace of mind to those choosing Panama.
A corporation domiciled in Panama distinct advantages, not the least being the fact that the share certificates can be in the form of bearer shares. A bank account in Panama can be setup to tie to the anonymous bearer share company only. This combination is as good or even better than the old Swiss numbered bank accounts.
Many people, new to the offshore banking world, seek a numbered bank account. They don't realize that, even if such an account were to exist today, it would be largely useless because of changes pushed into place by the USA. In fact, any wire without a a proper beneficiary will not be sent., or it will come under heavy scrutiny. An anonymous bearer share corporation with a bank account, however, can send or receive a wire with complete legitimacy, all the while never revealing the true beneficiary of the funds.
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Doug is an author and offshore banking and asset protection professional for Offshore Legal. For additional offshore corporation information go to Offshore Legal's website.
