Off-shore Bank Account

[Disco]

Hi Chaps

I live in Thailand and am looking for some recommendations and any advice you may have re off-shore bank accounts for a fairly substantial sum of money. I am looking for an established bank but not a bank that is an off-shore branch of a UK High Street Bank for example.

Your views will be much appreciated.

[Youbloodybeauty]

Hi Chaps

I live in Thailand and am looking for some recommendations and any advice you may have re off-shore bank accounts for a fairly substantial sum of money. I am looking for an established bank but not a bank that is an off-shore branch of a UK High Street Bank for example.

Your views will be much appreciated.

http://www.bviibc.com/

[Orion76]

Singapore has very strict banking secrecy laws.

If you are not an American I'd recommend Citibank:

http://www.ipb.citibank.com.sg

Otherwise DBS.

[astral]

I use International Division of Royal Bank of Soctland in Jersey, Channel Islands.

www.rbsint.com

Very reliable and used to dealing with foeign transfers etc

Edited March 17, 2006 by astral

[thohts]

Hong Kong.

Just bring your passport and proof of address.

Get an HSBC Powervantage account. You can manage all your funds online.

HSBC Hong Kong

there are lots of other banks in HK, too, of course.

I feel comfortable putting my money someplace I can easily get to in a couple of hours.

[LaoPo]

Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland....NO bank can be trusted...believe me!

1 letter...just 1 letter (with accusations which are not true...) from any EU Government/Justice department to any bank will result in complete detailed info, given to the same department in your country, from the bank ....beware!!!

I forgot to mention: that includes Jersey/Guernsey banks

I don't know about other than EU governments/Justice departments.

LaoPo

Edited March 17, 2006 by LaoPo

[Prakanong2005]

Try ING in Luxembourg

Luxembourg have a 10 year exemption from having to report you ID to your home country under the EU agreement where other do including UK High Street Banks in Jersey or wherever I beleive.

They do have a withholding tax on interest only to get around this though but you home country do not get to know who you are for a few years yet.

You can find it at

www..ing.lu

[ScubaDuc]

Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland....NO bank can be trusted...believe me!

1 letter...just 1 letter (with accusations which are not true...) from any EU Government/Justice department to any bank will result in complete detailed info, given to the same department in your country, from the bank ....beware!!!

I forgot to mention: that includes Jersey/Guernsey banks

I don't know about other than EU governments/Justice departments.

LaoPo

You are correct but in CH, for example, they have to prove you did something majorly wrong, and that's not just tax evasion. I would stick with a private bank for private investors. Also, you may not want an account on your name but perhaps is better to set up a company. This is because private investors will be subject to taxes on interest income either at the source or at residence country. The bank would have to report but companies are expempt from the reporting

Again, the right bank will help you but you will need more then half million Euros at the very minimum

[LaoPo]

Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland....NO bank can be trusted...believe me!

1 letter...just 1 letter (with accusations which are not true...) from any EU Government/Justice department to any bank will result in complete detailed info, given to the same department in your country, from the bank ....beware!!!

I forgot to mention: that includes Jersey/Guernsey banks

I don't know about other than EU governments/Justice departments.

LaoPo

You are correct but in CH, for example, they have to prove you did something majorly wrong, and that's not just tax evasion.

Unfortunately, that's not the reality (anymore) again: believe me!

LaoPo

[ScubaDuc]

Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland....NO bank can be trusted...believe me!

1 letter...just 1 letter (with accusations which are not true...) from any EU Government/Justice department to any bank will result in complete detailed info, given to the same department in your country, from the bank ....beware!!!

I forgot to mention: that includes Jersey/Guernsey banks

I don't know about other than EU governments/Justice departments.

LaoPo

You are correct but in CH, for example, they have to prove you did something majorly wrong, and that's not just tax evasion.

Unfortunately, that's not the reality (anymore) again: believe me!

LaoPo

Can u give more details? I confess I have a ...."vested" interest!

[LaoPo]

Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland....NO bank can be trusted...believe me!

1 letter...just 1 letter (with accusations which are not true...) from any EU Government/Justice department to any bank will result in complete detailed info, given to the same department in your country, from the bank ....beware!!!

I forgot to mention: that includes Jersey/Guernsey banks

I don't know about other than EU governments/Justice departments.

LaoPo

You are correct but in CH, for example, they have to prove you did something majorly wrong, and that's not just tax evasion.

Unfortunately, that's not the reality (anymore) again: believe me!

LaoPo

Can u give more details? I confess I have a ...."vested" interest!

This is a public forum...I've said too much already, but if you read my messages very careful you will understand, I hope.

As a very well informed friend of mine told me years ago...

"banks are legalized Mafia"

Now, I know what he meant.

LaoPo

[naka]

I have an account with DBS Bank, Singapore's biggest bank.

Just go down for a day with a cheap Air Asia flight.

Also they do not comply with the EU reporting/tax witholding laws.

Naka

Edited March 18, 2006 by naka

[thai1on]

I have an account with DBS Bank, Singapore's biggest bank.

Just go down for a day with a cheap Air Asia flight.

Also they do not comply with the EU reporting/tax witholding laws.

Naka

What citizenship do you have and what address did you give?I am a US citizen living in the US and want to open a Singapore bank account and safety deposit box and would only have a passport and a US residence address.Can I have an account there without work papers or Singapore address?

[Prakanong2005]

I have an account with DBS Bank, Singapore's biggest bank.

Just go down for a day with a cheap Air Asia flight.

Also they do not comply with the EU reporting/tax witholding laws.

Naka

What citizenship do you have and what address did you give?I am a US citizen living in the US and want to open a Singapore bank account and safety deposit box and would only have a passport and a US residence address.Can I have an account there without work papers or Singapore address?

A very good friend of mine opened up a Citibank Account there without work papers or Singapore address/papers.

He has given various addresses in Thailand for postal comms but uses the internet mostly (from which he was phished but got money back but thats a whole other thread - his fault totally and he was lucky)

Without saying too much this is money he does not want the UK tax man to know exists or where it is.

[LaoPo]

Also they do not comply with the EU reporting/tax witholding laws.

Some of you don't believe me...that's up to you though.

Tax- and Justice departments work together and share info. Justice from any country do write letters to the Justice departments of countries/states, like HK, S'pore, Virgin Islands and many more, with false accusations in order to try and locate the money...

They do that with statements that the person(s) involved (with bankaccounts) is under suspicion of fraud/other- and even drug-related crimes in their homecountry...

They do that with officially translated documents (if necessary).

In order not to disturb the 'friendly' relationships between the 2 countries, the Justice department of the country where the money is supposed to be, the Justice dep. has no alternative than to order the bank to open-up and send all detailed information...to the (your) homecountry.

Also, since this is an open forum, I suggest you to be careful with posting here any further since your IP numbers could be traced...

LaoPo

[cclub75]

You might be right on the principle, but you are wrong regarding the reality.

Just put the extrems away : we are not billionaires, nor criminals.

It means : you can perfectly "hide" a few hundreds thousands (of something). The taxman in your country will not hunt you down accross the world.

I mean : it's a matter of volume.

It's like Internet : deeply insecure. Everybody can "listen" your email for instance.

But your best protection is the mass.

Anyway, back to the topic : the best thing to do is to abandon residency in your origin country. This is the key. Then you are litteraly "off shore". They can send all the letters in the world, they are not in charge anymore.

Tax- and Justice departments work together and share info. Justice from any country do write letters to the Justice departments of countries/states, like HK, S'pore, Virgin Islands and many more, with false accusations in order to try and locate the money...

They do that with statements that the person(s) involved (with bankaccounts) is under suspicion of fraud/other- and even drug-related crimes in their homecountry...

They do that with officially translated documents (if necessary).

In order not to disturb the 'friendly' relationships between the 2 countries, the Justice department of the country where the money is supposed to be, the Justice dep. has no alternative than to order the bank to open-up and send all detailed information...to the (your) homecountry.

Also, since this is an open forum, I suggest you to be careful with posting here any further since your IP numbers could be traced...

[thai1on]

I have an account with DBS Bank, Singapore's biggest bank.

Just go down for a day with a cheap Air Asia flight.

Also they do not comply with the EU reporting/tax witholding laws.

Naka

What citizenship do you have and what address did you give?I am a US citizen living in the US and want to open a Singapore bank account and safety deposit box and would only have a passport and a US residence address.Can I have an account there without work papers or Singapore address?

A very good friend of mine opened up a Citibank Account there without work papers or Singapore address/papers.

He has given various addresses in Thailand for postal comms but uses the internet mostly (from which he was phished but got money back but thats a whole other thread - his fault totally and he was lucky)

Without saying too much this is money he does not want the UK tax man to know exists or where it is.

Thanks!

I currently have $100,000 I want to place in Singapore and/or Thai accounts and will be getting another $700,000 dollars more this year I will want to put into non-US banks.

I know about the currency reporting requirements when one travels internationally is $10,000 and also that the IRS requires reporting foreign bank accounts if the combined value of all accounts is over $10,000.Also wiring money from a US bank into foreign banks are recorded as are all checks.

80 overseas flights with under $10,000 in cash each flight isn't feasible so will have to comply with the tax man I guess.Think I should spread the 800 Gs over several Singapore and Thai banks.I realize that they won't earn much interest but that isn't a concern for me and I am a few years away from retirement and will settle down in Thailand with a retirement visa.

How would one who retired with a few million dollars get it out of America which I feel will undergo an economic implosion soon?

Edited March 18, 2006 by thai1on

[Heng]

Wire it out. It's "reported" but the feds won't be tracking you down or anything (unless it's stolen or ill gotten funds).

[LaoPo]

Wire it out. It's "reported" but the feds won't be tracking you down or anything (unless it's stolen or ill gotten funds).

hmmm ...at one point you need to renew your passport, don't you?

LaoPo

[thai1on]

Wire it out. It's "reported" but the feds won't be tracking you down or anything (unless it's stolen or ill gotten funds).

haha!Thanks!All family inheritances and real estate deals so all too aboveground and taxed to death already.

[Heng]

Wire it out. It's "reported" but the feds won't be tracking you down or anything (unless it's stolen or ill gotten funds).

hmmm ...at one point you need to renew your passport, don't you?

LaoPo

Already have (once, and also have added pages once as well). There wasn't anything along the lines of "have you been fully declaring your income for the last 7 years?" in the renewal process. Are you saying that it is for some folks?

I'm not saying that big brother doesn't have eyes and ears, but I think for most of us (legal income but under reporting interest and investment income; income shuttled out of the US regularly), we're easily in the small fish category.

[LaoPo]

Wire it out. It's "reported" but the feds won't be tracking you down or anything (unless it's stolen or ill gotten funds).

hmmm ...at one point you need to renew your passport, don't you?

LaoPo

Already have (once, and also have added pages once as well). There wasn't anything along the lines of "have you been fully declaring your income for the last 7 years?" in the renewal process. Are you saying that it is for some folks?

I'm not saying that big brother doesn't have eyes and ears, but I think for most of us (legal income but under reporting interest and investment income; income shuttled out of the US regularly), we're easily in the small fish category.

"Most of us" and "reporting", indeed; but I think that's not what some posters here mean...

"small fish"....but "your taxfriend", working for Uncle Sam/other tax-countries will think different about a few hundred grant, won't he?

LaoPo

[Prakanong2005]

I have an account with DBS Bank, Singapore's biggest bank.

Just go down for a day with a cheap Air Asia flight.

Also they do not comply with the EU reporting/tax witholding laws.

Naka

What citizenship do you have and what address did you give?I am a US citizen living in the US and want to open a Singapore bank account and safety deposit box and would only have a passport and a US residence address.Can I have an account there without work papers or Singapore address?

A very good friend of mine opened up a Citibank Account there without work papers or Singapore address/papers.

He has given various addresses in Thailand for postal comms but uses the internet mostly (from which he was phished but got money back but thats a whole other thread - his fault totally and he was lucky)

Without saying too much this is money he does not want the UK tax man to know exists or where it is.

Thanks!

I currently have $100,000 I want to place in Singapore and/or Thai accounts and will be getting another $700,000 dollars more this year I will want to put into non-US banks.

I know about the currency reporting requirements when one travels internationally is $10,000 and also that the IRS requires reporting foreign bank accounts if the combined value of all accounts is over $10,000.Also wiring money from a US bank into foreign banks are recorded as are all checks.

80 overseas flights with under $10,000 in cash each flight isn't feasible so will have to comply with the tax man I guess.Think I should spread the 800 Gs over several Singapore and Thai banks.I realize that they won't earn much interest but that isn't a concern for me and I am a few years away from retirement and will settle down in Thailand with a retirement visa.

How would one who retired with a few million dollars get it out of America which I feel will undergo an economic implosion soon?

My psal just wired his and the UK taxman has not found it - it was transferred by a lawyer from their account though.

He has less than you at the equivalent of 250K USD but when he started playing around buying and selling curency they offered him about 700k credit ti gamble with as it were????

[thohts]

Easy solution.

Create a corporation in HK

Transfer your money to it (straight transfer, or sell something arbitrary)

No taxes on that income as long as it was sourced outside of Hong Kong.

Then, have your corporation pay for your expenses and purchase property with it.

[Heng]

Wire it out. It's "reported" but the feds won't be tracking you down or anything (unless it's stolen or ill gotten funds).

hmmm ...at one point you need to renew your passport, don't you?

LaoPo

Already have (once, and also have added pages once as well). There wasn't anything along the lines of "have you been fully declaring your income for the last 7 years?" in the renewal process. Are you saying that it is for some folks?

I'm not saying that big brother doesn't have eyes and ears, but I think for most of us (legal income but under reporting interest and investment income; income shuttled out of the US regularly), we're easily in the small fish category.

"Most of us" and "reporting", indeed; but I think that's not what some posters here mean...

"small fish"....but "your taxfriend", working for Uncle Sam/other tax-countries will think different about a few hundred grant, won't he?

LaoPo

IMO, (just IMO) that's still very small fish. Myself, my revenues (just from plain jane bank accounts, mostly fixed accounts) aren't anywhere near a few hundred grand (USD) in interest revenue per year. My interest income is barely equivalent to that of your average Texas garbage collector. Scattered quarterly (and in some cases bi-annually), AND offshore in tax havens (for myself, just one "true" tax haven and the other the LOS), that equals 'not on that radar' AND 'small fish.'

Naturally we are all speaking from our own experiences, and it won't apply to all. For those with net worth under $1 million USD (which really by all accounts isn't that much money any more), of course legally acquired/earned (preferably not in lump sums) is an important foot note, I seriously doubt you'll be on anyone's radar. And that's with a pretty sure feeling. I'd wager (with slightly less confidence) that $10 million and under still might not even trigger any flags. Just my opinion.

[naka]

I have an account with DBS Bank, Singapore's biggest bank.

Just go down for a day with a cheap Air Asia flight.

Also they do not comply with the EU reporting/tax witholding laws.

Naka

What citizenship do you have and what address did you give?I am a US citizen living in the US and want to open a Singapore bank account and safety deposit box and would only have a passport and a US residence address.Can I have an account there without work papers or Singapore address?

I opened the account while working for a S'pore company in Indonesia. Got paid

in S'pore dollars hence the S'pore account.

Note ... a Fixed Term Deposit is even easier to open than a current or savings account.

Naka.

[Orion76]

Wire it out. It's "reported" but the feds won't be tracking you down or anything (unless it's stolen or ill gotten funds).

hmmm ...at one point you need to renew your passport, don't you?

LaoPo

Already have (once, and also have added pages once as well). There wasn't anything along the lines of "have you been fully declaring your income for the last 7 years?" in the renewal process. Are you saying that it is for some folks?

I'm not saying that big brother doesn't have eyes and ears, but I think for most of us (legal income but under reporting interest and investment income; income shuttled out of the US regularly), we're easily in the small fish category.

"Most of us" and "reporting", indeed; but I think that's not what some posters here mean...

"small fish"....but "your taxfriend", working for Uncle Sam/other tax-countries will think different about a few hundred grant, won't he?

LaoPo

The US IRS is not above having the DEA contact a foreign bank and claim it's drug or terrorist money if they suspect you are hiding millions of unreported ill gotten income there, but if they know where you are keeping your money you have an obligation to declare it and show bank statements anyway so you'd be screwed either way.

It is highly unlikely that they make accusations for random people in random countries without knowing the account details and how much you may be keeping there. If they don't know where it is they can't use those sort of tactics.

I think for the average person, especially expats, who has honest income and wants to have a safety net in case he gets sued/divorced etc. hiding his assets too good behind nominee directors on some island nobody's ever heard of is riskier than putting his money in an AAA rated bank in a country like Singapore, Hong Kong or Switzerland.

[meom]

Also, since this is an open forum, I suggest you to be careful with posting here any further since your IP numbers could be traced...

LaoPo[/color]

So putting your picture up in the forum wasn't such a good idea after all

[LaoPo]

Also, since this is an open forum, I suggest you to be careful with posting here any further since your IP numbers could be traced...

LaoPo[/color]

So putting your picture up in the forum wasn't such a good idea after all

I have nothing to fear; what's done is done

LaoPo

[Disco]

Thanks for all your replies, I am certainly not in a position where I need to hide my money from anything illegal, I am just in a very good financial position and want to make my money work for me.

Any more suggestions of financial institutions would be gratefully accepted, and I will spend some time researching said recommendations this week.

Kind regards

Disco