================================================= Expat Worlds Monthly Digest ================================================= 13 May, 2006 Vol. 8, Issue 06 .....IN THIS DIGEST..... ==== THE STORY =================== -=Offshore Banks=- ==== OTHER EZINES ================ ==== EW SPECIAL ================== -=Banking Passport=- ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... == -=Trivia=- -=News Story=- -=Jokes=- ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============= -=Skype=- ==== INSIDE THE CURRENT EXPAT WORLD == -=Table of Content=- ==== THE STORY ================================== OFFSHORE BANKS - THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY In this issue of Expat World we are going to focus on banking, more specifically, offshore banking as our focused area. The offshore world is often cloaked in secrecy, the price for membership of this elite club is sometimes high, the techniques for offshore freedom, elusive, until now. In this article EW will show you, the reader, how to join this elite club using a series of easy to follow steps to opening and maintaining an offshore bank account, as well as obtaining debit and credit cards, establishing merchant accounts, and setting up online payment systems EW will describe the different types of accounts that you can open and discuss ways of hiding your funds should anyone come looking for them. By the end of this article you should be able to open your own offshore account, manage and move funds in secrecy, and be part of the offshore world. Since that fateful day - September 11, 2001 - things have changed considerably, the offshore world and those who participate in it are now viewed in the same regard as arms dealers, drug smugglers and techno-terrorists, etc. Opening offshore accounts, setting up offshore companies, not wanting the government to know every single detail of your life is not terrorism, it is the right of every free person. If it were not the case then many of our recognised politicians would be charged and incarcerated by now. Where do you think they keep their money? Most people view this industry with scepticism and distrust and this is largely due to the cost involved in getting started and the negative bad spin that the US government and many first world governments put on it . Many offshore consultants charge small fortunes to open an account. We have nothing against offshore consultants and know they have costs that must be passed on to the clients, but do watch for the overly expensive ones, like the one guy we see who advertises and charges $2500 to open a visa account, $1000 gets deposited in the account as its minimum opening balance and he pockets the other $1500 for sending you two forms in the post. It is this kind of behaviour that gives the rest of us, including Expat World, a bad name. So, the rant is over, let us begin. So Why Go Offshore? There are a myriad of reasons for going offshore, from hiding money from your spouse, to collecting profits from an on-line business. The most popular though, is avoiding the high rate of taxation in your home country. Many clients we've know over the years are I.T. consultants living in Europe and Asia. They contract all over the world, and under regular circumstances would be required to pay tax on their income either in their place of work or back home. To get around this they set up an offshore business and invoice the local company directly from there. The payments are wired to their account and they have instant access to the funds via a regular ATM card. The small service fees for this kind of transaction are nothing compared with the high rate of tax they would have been paying otherwise. EW is not saying this is one hundred percent legal in some countries but in most it is tax-avoidance which is legal, rather than tax evasion which is not. Tax avoidance is technically legal in the US under a Supreme Court ruling (tax EVASION is not), but unfortunately the IRS doesn't always play by the law of the land. The fact of the matter is, if you do it properly, carefully, then the chance that anyone will ever find out is practically zero. Another good reason to go offshore is to protect your assets. If they are offshore, and you were ever divorced, made bankrupt etc., the chances of bureaucrats ever finding, let alone seizing the assets would be slim to none. As you can see the offshore world is a murky one. An alarming fact has recently come to the attention of Expat World and several other publishers and consultants that we know, and this is that some well known offshore providers have been "pressed" into providing information on their clients and the services that they have purchased from them. One guy who we know in the business admitted that his boss sends full reports every time an account is opened for a client to a US based agency. We can tell you that here at Expat World we keep NO records of our clients beyond a 6 month period when we assume everything is clear with their order. There is a good reason why opening an account yourself, or opening several and passing the money between them reduces your risk. Only you and the bank know about this arrangement. Or if you do use a "service provider" be as sure as you can of their "integrity". Offshore Money Flow - In a perfect world, offshore banks would offer one hundred percent secrecy, one hundred percent stability, and one hundred percent accessibility. Unfortunately this isn't true, due to ever changing laws and regulations, and increasing pressure on offshore havens, maintaining secrecy while having instant access to your funds is a little more difficult than you may think. The answer though lies in the creation of several bank accounts. Each of these created for a specific purpose, and part of the overall money flow solution. The Three Accounts Solution Below are listed the three type of accounts that should be created, and their function. 1. The Pass-Through Account - This will be the first type of account you will create. It should be in a jurisdiction that has total banking secrecy laws in place such as, Latvia, Antigua, Estonia, Grenada, Vanuatu, Panama and Andorra. This is your front account, the account that you will give to your clients when they wish to pay you, this is also the account that you will use when you want to transfer money to someone else. This is as the name suggests, an account whose only purpose it to send or receive money. Typically you should rely on the smaller banking establishments as they generally provide far better secrecy and confidentiality than the larger ones. The stability of the jurisdiction and the bank is less important for this type of account as their will never be any great sums of cash sitting there for more that a few days or weeks. 2. The Stash Account - Your stash account should be opened in a stable jurisdiction with a reputable banking establishment. This account will be used to store the majority of your money, and receive funds from your stash account or other offshore investments. 3. Spending Account -- Your spending account should be the most flexible of your three accounts, you should have a cash withdrawal facility using major ATM machines and probably a secured Visa or MasterCard. The primary function of this account is to provide you with an untraceable means of accessing your funds without having to do a wire transfer. Many providers will issue you a card with minimal or even no identification requirements. First of all the only account they know about is your Pass-Through account. The jurisdiction where this account is located will have some of the best banking secrecy laws in the world and it would require proof of a major offence such as money laundering or drug dealing for them to even consider freezing the account. Tax evasion or other similar crimes would not warrant any kind of action from them. But even assuming that they do manage to access this account, all they would find is an empty account with a couple of dollars. Next they would have to obtain records of everyone you have sent money to from that account. If you were clever, your stash account would be under a corporate name, assuming that you have paid several suppliers from your Pass-Through account, they would never know which was a legitimate supplier and which was you masquerading as a supplier. They would have to then attempt to freeze the accounts of all those paid from your account. Even if your stash account is discovered, they would then have to pressure the bank into freezing that account (this account would be in a different country and the whole process would have to be restarted) by which time you would have noticed that your Pass-Through account was frozen and would have transferred your funds elsewhere. This way your money will always be one step ahead, no matter what happens. Of course, EW hopes that you won't ever get into such a situation, but it can happen even if you are completely innocent - and thus it would make sense to be a PT - Prepared Thoroughly, now rather than to be taken by surprise later. As you can see, diversification is of extreme importance, that's why EW advises you to open at least three different accounts. There is nothing to stop you opening five or ten accounts but always consider the difference between secrecy, stability and accessibility, and carefully evaluate how you can optimize your strategy by creatively taking advantage of these three principles! ==== OTHER EZINES & BOOKS ======================== ASIAN TIMES ONLINE Asia most trusted source for news, business,commentary and analysis from throughout Asia and our world. (www.atimes.com). ----- SURVIVAL BOOKS Go to and check it out! ----- japan-guide.com Extensive, up to date online guide on Japan living and travel related information. http://www.japan-guide.com/ ==== EW SPECIAL ================================= EXPAT WORLD CAN HELP THE SKINNY: A very special legal second passport/nationality program for less than US $5000 total cost -- ideally used as a banking passport. Here's a great opportunity for readers of Expat World to obtain a legal 2nd passport at a price way below par for an offer of this quality. We can't say more here but if you want to know the name of the country plus more information and receive an application blank, email: office@expatworld.net with Agricultural Project in the subject heading. ==== HUMOR, TRIVIA, NEWS AND MORE... ================ NEWS STORIES Speeding man was drying wet car AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Police confiscated the car and driver's license of a Dutchman caught speeding who said he only wanted to dry his car after he had washed it. The 27-year-old was stopped in Amsterdam driving at 108 kph (68 mph), 50 kph over the speed limit, police said. "Because he did not have his driver's license with him, his clean car was confiscated until he produces it," a police spokeswoman said. --- Russian police mistake rugby match for brawl MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russians playing a game of amateur rugby were arrested by police who mistook the match for a mass brawl, local media reported Monday. "We got a call to our control room saying there was a fight involving a lot of people on some waste ground just outside town," RIA news agency quoted a police official in the southern city of Rostov-on-Don as saying. The players and supporters -- nearly 100 people in total -- were taken to the local police station. They were released without charge when officers realized they had been playing rugby, the news agency reported. --- Man bites car (enough said really) A MAN resisting an order to leave his home became so angry he bit the police car he was being pinned against, German authorities said. Police tried to eject the 42-year-old man after a report of domestic violence. He became aggressive and officers pinned him face down on the hood of their patrol car and he began chewing its police markings. "He was so angry he gnawed at the bonnet and bit through the paintwork," said a police spokesman in the western city of Bielefeld. "Who knows, perhaps he was hungry too." The hood would need its markings replacing and a new coat of paint, the spokesman said. --- Oxymoron: round corner ----- A diplomat is a person who thinks twice before he says nothing. -- Frederick Sawyer ----- "Sex is not the answer. Sex is the question. Yes, is the answer." ----- It's one thing to have to explain to a man why a billion dollar measure has been vetoed, but it is much more difficult to explain to a woman why the cap of the toothpaste has not been put back on. -- W. C. Fields ----- Two guys are out hunting deer. The first guy says, "Did you see that?" The second guy says, "No." "A bald eagle just flew over head." "Oh." A couple of minutes later, The first guy says, "Did you see that?" "No." "There was a black bear walking on that hill over there." "Oh." A few minutes later the second guy says, "Did you see that?" The second guy, getting aggravated, says, "Yes, I did!" The first guy then says, "Then why did you step in it?" ----- Now I understand what marketing is: You are at a party and you see a very pretty girl. You approach her and tell her: "I am very good in bed". That is Direct Marketing. You are at a party with a group of friends and you see a very pretty girl. One of your friends approaches her and tells her: "That guy over there is very good in bed". That is Advertising. You are at a party and you see a very pretty girl. You ask for her phone number. The following day you call her and tell her: "I am very good in bed". That is Telemarketing . You are at a party and you see a very pretty girl. You recognize her, you approach her and refresh her memory by telling her: "Do you remember how good I am in bed?" That is Customer Relationship Management. You are at a party and you see a very pretty girl. You get up, fix your tie, pour her a drink, open the door for her, pick up her bag when it falls and you tell her: "I am very good in bed". That is Public Relations. You are at a party and you see a very pretty girl. She approaches you and tells you: "I heard you are very good in bed". That is BRANDING!! ==== THE RESOURCE TIP ============================ SKYPE Skype is a little program for making f r e e calls over the internet to anyone else who also has Skype. It’s f r e e and easy to download and use, and works with most computers. Go to . ==== INSIDE THE CURRENT EXPAT WORLD =============== EXPAT WORLD NEWSLETTER (VOL.18 ISSUE 06) Table of Content: - OFFSHORE BANKS - THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY - EIGHT GOLDEN RULES FOR SUCCESSFUL SECRET BANKING - BANKING PASSPORTS - EXPAT WORLD'S PRIVACY WORLD - DIGITAL DANGERS TO YOUR PRIVACY - THE PT CREDO - THE "PT" CARD - ART LOVERS - WWW.EXPATARTIST.COM - THE KNOWLEDGE BOX - BYE, BYE, BIG BROTHER - AVOIDING OFFSHORE BANKING DISASTERS - AROUND THE WORLD WITH EXPAT WORLD - INTERNATIONAL SNIPS & CLIPS - LETTER FROM AMERICA - EXPAT WORLD'S WORLD OF TRAVEL - PIPS & TIPS - CRAPPER RAPPER - OLD NEWS IS REALLY FUNNY WHEN YOU LOOK BACK IN HINDSIGHT YOU MISSING SO MUCH Each week the EXPAT WORLD DIGEST gives you just a smattering of what you can find in the EXPAT WORLD newsletter that we produce once a month. Why not get the whole story and subscribe now to our electronic version for just US $30 per year. Go to our website: www.expatworld.net to sign up. ********************************************************************* EXPAT WORLD - the newsletter of international living URL - http://www.expatworld.net Email - office@expatworld.net ---------- End of Expat World Digest --------------------------------