Protecting your assets is crucial, and offshore banking offers strategies to enhance this protection. A robust asset protection strategy often begins in a privacy-focused jurisdiction, such as a tax haven, where offshore capital gains and derived income may not be taxed.
Offshore banking facilitates asset protection and bank secrecy. Bank secrecy laws prevent bank employees, directors, or officers from divulging personal information, files, or bank statements linked to account holders. For example, Panama’s offshore banks have stringent secrecy laws that allow individuals to file lawsuits if their privacy is violated. These laws target not only those directly responsible but also bank employees or the bank itself if they are complicit.
However, Panama’s bank secrecy laws may be lifted in criminal cases where the account holder is implicated. In the USA and EU, private investigators can sometimes trace bank records without alerting bank employees, and these investigators rarely face legal repercussions.
Another asset protection method involves piercing corporate veils, which requires a court order to access assets held in trusts, corporations, bank accounts, or foundations. These orders are typically reserved for serious criminal offenses like terrorism or narcotics. Civil matters from countries outside the jurisdiction usually do not require a court order to obtain information.
Offshore privacy havens prioritize customer protection, often preventing foreign creditors from accessing assets held in their banks. Panama’s offshore banks are structured to favor their customers, aiming to eliminate unwanted problems or asset seizures. These jurisdictions often do not tax income, removing filing requirements for individuals or companies that conduct no business within the country and derive no income from Panamanian sources. They may only be subject to a fixed annual tax.
Foundations can add another layer of privacy to corporate ownership. By placing a trust or foundation in one country, a corporation in another, and a bank account in a third, a robust asset protection strategy is created. Combining a foundation with a Panama S.A. corporation is a powerful approach to safeguarding assets.