(07-10-2012 03:04 PM)mistermister Wrote: xsplat...this is a great post.
is there something to be said about being pre-emptive never living with a woman. protecting your self from false rape etc. ?
my business interests are commercial real estate/ business bank accounts / etc. you can't build those without using your real name and providing identification documentation, credit checks, etc.
i'm in my late 20s. unattached. looking for information on storing money in banks abroad and controlling investments with anonymity ? any specifics ?
For storing money in offshore banks, the laws change often, so you have to keep up to date on what jurisdictions are still highly anonymous. But before looking into that question, you need to know what it is your trying to do, in a broader sense. Are you trying to store value anonymously? Or do you require banking and related services such as a brokerage account?
If it is just stored value that is your need, you can consider caches of gold. A gps co-ordinate can be as good as a bank vault code.
Stored value can take the form of local investments, such as purchasing a motorcycle (in cash) and then leasing it to a local motorcycle rental agency (for cash or check to your offshore business account). Or purchasing an old car with cash and paying for it's restoration. Or buy a boat or airplane and rent or lease it, or export it for resale. Many assets can be handled, stored, improved upon, and resold for cash or business check.
Domain names can be a store of value, but that gets speculative and you'd want to partner with someone already successful in that business.
I'm reminded of a rumor I heard about a popular import store in Colorado. I was told that one of the owners is a silent partner, and that he set the whole thing up with drug money. He used the place to launder his income. There are many businesses that can take an infusion of cash in return for shares, where the full cash amount doesn't have to go onto the books. If you can't find them it's possible to start them. I suppose a pawn shop business would take a lot of start up capitol and work in cash and storable assets.
As real estate is your business, you might consider offshore real estate as your value store. Brazil farm land is a good deal right now. It is paid for in cash - or to be more precise in bags of soy beans. Land can be owned through your offshore corporation or trust, making it difficult for your government to discover it or put a lien on it.
For offshore banking, you can setup a personal or a business account. You can have a broker setup a corporation for you from $400 to $1200 or so, depending on the jurisdiction and their profit margin. This gives you more anonymity and allows you to accept checks, money orders, and international post office checks (not the domestic ones) in your business name, which can then be couriered to your offshore bank.
Beware that banks sometimes go bust or change their policies. I've seen a few well known high volume banks offering anonymous services lock their customers out from access to their accounts. Some offshore banks in the Caribbean offer absolutely terrible customer service, taking weeks or even months to send a wire transfer, and that requiring many faxes and phone calls to complete. Not to mention the lack of security for sending out a wire transfer on the authority of only a faxed signature. But it's not always easy even in this day and age to get information on a banks level of customer service. And as for reputation, even Ponzi schemes can have great reputations.
You'll have to balance out your privacy needs with the financial stability of the bank and reputation of the country for financial oversight. Switzerland or Panama might do you fine, or you might want the robust privacy of an account in the Seychelles. There are website forums dedicated to discussing offshore financial planning where current info on the strengths of jurisdictions and even particular banks can be had. A little google foo should get you there. There is always the possibility of global banking crisis, so no matter what bank you choose I'd not keep your full next egg in any one or any number of banks.
Numbered safety deposit boxes can still be had in Europe. With these the keyholder has access, and no documentation is used. Not sure if numbered bank accounts still exist.
Some people opt to create a trust, rather than open a corporation or bank account that is in their real name. This adds a layer of anonymity, but I never looked into it because from what I understand a trust requires trust that the holders won't take your money.
Any US$ money transfer is monitored by the US authorities, so if you are wiring in US funds at least do so from your offshore corporate account, and don't wire to yourself.
It's possible to have bank accounts in other peoples names, with their permission, but these are less useful to store cash than to receive and send payments. In some countries the locals aren't asked to pay taxes and their bank accounts are not closely monitored, so people are not wary of letting you deposit funds into accounts in their name, and can even welcome it as the record of income helps them to get travel visas.
There are money exchangers to help you anonymize your funds. You can transfer between wire transfers, bit-coin, liberty reserve, pecunix, or many other digital currencies. Bit-coin offers the highest anonymity that we know of as of now. You could for instance wire to an exchanger who will sell you bitcoin which you deposit to another exchanger who will wire you cash or mail you gold.
It's not safe to use digital currencies as a value store - they routinely go under, often within about 3 years. It's not known why - perhaps outside fraud and theft kills them, perhaps the US government (likely), or perhaps inside fraud where they deliberately siphon off deposits.
Occasionally you'll find anonymous debit or prepaid visa cards that can be used as small stores of value. Again, these are volatile. Anonymous banking or any loopholes that allow for what is functionally anonymous banking springs up from time to time because of demand, but gets shut down by the authorities. The enterprises that manage to offer services in such a restrictive climate can be a bit "edgy". Fraud in high places is common enough to be well known, and it's also well known that stored value banking card fraud that rips customers off is not prosecuted. I guess it's like trying to sue Paypal.
Oh, and then there is Paypal. It's possible to have anonymous accounts with them, but it's not wise to use them as a store of value. Better than anonymous accounts are accounts under real peoples names who give you permission, but still these do not make for safe places to keep money long term. Paypal should be looked at as one means to help transfer money, and as a store for small amounts of money. If you use them there is a detailed craft for how to not get your accounts frozen, and a much more esoteric craft for how to verify your accounts to raise the sending and receiving limits. The information is available in dark corners of the interweb.