Offshore Corporation: Panama vs Swiss vs Bahamas Faceoff

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.

Switzerland was once the star of the offshore banking world. After years of degradation and pressure from onshore countries. The once, high and mighty, offshore kingpin has fallen. The Swiss still claim to be an offshore privacy provider, for banking, but reality is that they turn their records over to the first government agency knocking at their door.

The only serious contender today, that is stable, in the writer’s opinion is Panama. The government has been stable for a long time. The government has a vested interest in keeping the offshore banking sector completely anonymous. Incorporating a company in Panama can be done quickly (3 – 5 days typically). Privacy laws in Panama are well respected because the government enforces these laws with jail time.

What many people fail to realize is the power of the Panama anonymous bearer share corporation. This company has its share certificates issued in bearer share form. When a corporation with bearer shares opens a bank account, it is essentially bullet proof. The ownership of the corporation can only be established by physically locating the shares. The assets (and funds in the bank account) can be have ownership changed just by physically handing these shares to the new owner. Let the reader note that no record of this transfer is needed !

Number bank accounts, sought after by many persecuted jews in the nazi era, drove Switzerland to fame, for its banking secrecy. Today, the numbered bank account is largely illegal because of anti-terrorism legislation around the world (largely pushed by the United States). Fortunately, Panama bearer share companies have come to the rescue. In fact, if you were to wire money to a numbered bank account, your wiring instructions would be a red flag, showing no name for the beneficiary. When using a bearer share corporation, wiring logs will have recorded only the anonymous corporate name, thus the transaction does not appear suspicious.

About the Author: Doug Fragostine

Doug Fragostine is a writer and offshore asset protection expert for Offshore Legal. For more offshore corporation information visit Offshore Legal’s website.

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