Offshore bank accounts
The Antigua Bank was licensed for offshore banking operations seven years
ago.
Over the last years
SloGold has developed close working relationships with many
international banks in different jurisdictions and is, therefore, able to
assist with the opening of corporate, trust and personal accounts in any
convertible currency (multi currency). All of these banks provide the high
quality of service that our clients expect including:
• Current cheque accounts
• Deposit accounts
• Fixed term deposit accounts
• Investment bonds
• Portfolio management services
• Loans and mortgages (subject to status)
• Documentary letters of credit
• International Swift transfers
• Debit and credit cards
• Provision of online banking services
Account opening procedures
You usually do not need to visit the bank with which you wish to work with.
However, we'd always recommend clients to establish a personal relationship
with a manager from their corporate bankers. Personal visits are
particularly recommended when a corporate client is involved, or about to
become involved, with complex or high-value transactions. Clients who
communicate successfully with their corporate bankers will face few
problems.
Most banks require us to provide them with certified copies of a company's
certificate of incorporation, by-laws and a directors' resolution to open
the bank account. Certain banks require the provision of a certificate of
good standing and some Swiss and other banks require documents to be
notarized and apostilled in a company's jurisdiction of incorporation.
All banks require evidence of beneficial ownership in the form of certified
passport copies and appropriate board resolutions. Banks need to know their
customer’s business and thus we need to know detailed plans for a new
company's operations, including projected turnover and the geographic spread
of business. One of the conditions of opening a new account with most banks
is the placing of an initial deposit and some banks may insist that
significant minimum balances be maintained.
Many banks require clients seeking to issue fax instructions for money
transfers to execute an indemnity in favor of the bank.
The procedure to open a bank account with a major bank may take anything
from 4 to 8 weeks. It takes banks this amount of time to check documentation
and confirm references. The biggest causes of delays in opening bank
accounts are the production of inadequate or incorrectly worded references
and the slowness of banks issuing references to confirm them.
SloGold operates within internationally recognized provisions and regulation
concerning due diligence and know your customer guidelines. Banks are
subject to guidelines and regulations that are designed to ensure that money
launderers are unable to utilize banks to hide their assets. Therefore, we
require the following information on each beneficial owner, director,
account signatory and all persons able to influence control on a company
before processing an application to open a corporate bank account:
• A character reference addressed to the required bank from another bank.
The reference should state that the person has been known to the referee for
a period and is considered trustworthy, respectable and suitable for
operating a bank account
• Notarized passport copies
• Original telephone or utility bills evidencing residential address
• A description of a company's intended investment and/or trading activities
including geographic spread
• An indication of what a company's first years turnover is to be
• An initial deposit, to fund the new bank account, commensurate with bank
policy
How to control accounts?
The opening of a bank account is one of the primary concerns of our clients.
All major banks recognize the importance of being able to carry out
instructions expeditiously, with many banks now providing online computer
facilities that provide information to the authorized user and the ability
to effect either inter-account or external electronic transfers. Clients
preferring to issue instructions by fax are able to establish coded systems
with the bank to ensure both confidentiality and security.
Know your customer principles
Banks are required by their regulators to know their customers’ identities
and details of their business activities. Clients are encouraged to inform
banks of changes in their business pattern or of any large transactions.
Banks are suspicious of large inward transactions followed rapidly by large
outward transfers from corporate accounts and generally do not wish to
attract this type of business. A client who describes his business as a
business consultancy with an estimated annual turnover of US$ 200,000 per
annum should not be surprised if their corporate banker rejects an incoming
transfer of several million dollars.
Money Laundering
Both onshore and offshore banking centres have serious concerns relating to
the laundering of the proceeds of drug trafficking and terrorism. Banks may
require detailed information, such as copies of contracts or purchase
orders, concerning source of funds to ensure that they do not become
involved with money laundering and the layering of laundered funds.
Self-evidently large cash transactions are bound to create suspicion and
clients seeking to deposit more than US$ 10,000 in cash with a bank should
provide explanations to their corporate bankers prior to attempting to place
such deposits.
Confidentiality
Our international clients seek confidentiality in their affairs to
legitimately protect their assets from disasters, unwarranted third party
interference and to reduce an ever-growing burden of unnecessary disclosure
and explanation.
Confidentiality and privacy are often integral to risk management planning;
and confidentiality, either on its own or combined with some other
parameter, is a major factor in the use of offshore facilities.
Banking confidentiality is best assessed through consideration of the
physical location of a bank and its corporate structure.
In Common Law offshore banking jurisdictions, confidentiality normally
arises through four circumstances: specific laws or regulations designed to
enshrine banking confidentiality, by the special relationship that exists
between a client and their professional advisers, in an express contract and
by virtue of the law of tort, whereby, for example, information with
commercial value is protected against unjustifiable use.
In most European countries it is generally accepted that the relationship
between a banker and a client is confidential and should not be disclosed
without a court order. European banks are subject to European Union
directives on such matters as money laundering and exchange of information,
whilst many countries have exchange of information and mutual legal
assistance provisions enshrined within double tax and other bilateral
treaties.
The corporate structure of a bank is often an important selection parameter
as normally clients seek to avoid banks incorporated or active in either
their country of residence or where the bulk of their non-cash and non-bank
assets are held. For example, a US citizen seeking confidentiality should
carefully consider the wisdom of establishing a confidential banking
relationship with an institution with a corporate presence in the US as a
third party could seek redress through the US based corporate presence.
The UK is subject to the full burden of both European Union directives and a
high level of both disclosed and undisclosed scrutiny by the authorities.
Generally speaking levels of confidentiality amongst the BVI are broadly
similar and satisfactory. Luxembourg remains a popular banking jurisdiction
whilst undoubtedly Antigua, Costa Rica, Dominica, Latvia, Liechtenstein,
Panama, Switzerland and Uruguay, both provide high levels of
confidentiality.
If you have questions about opening of corporate or personal bank account please contact us.
