What is professional reference letter? Why is it needed? How do I get it?
A professional reference is a letter from an
accountant or lawyer, with whom you have a commercial relationship. The
letter states that you have been a client of the firm for a period of
time. The professional reference letter also confirms that the
commercial relationship has been acceptable from both ends, without any
defaults from your part. A professional reference is a standardized
document, well known to most Accounting and Law firms, so they will not
be surprised when you ask for it. A professional reference should be
nothing more than just an informative letter, stating that the
Accounting or Law firm knows you for certain period of time as a decent
client
For KYC and due diligence purposes, the reason for the professional
reference is to establish that the particular person is an ordinary,
economically active member of the society and that the identity and
address can be confirmed by an independent, reputable organization.
Professional reference is requested to avoid fraudulent attempts to register an offshore company in the name of a non-existing or a dead person or in the name of individual, who might just have sold his passport. It is quite improbable that any of such individuals would have a long-standing commercial relationship with an accountant or lawyer. Therefore, appearance of such individuals as beneficial owners of a new IBC would be a signal to look more closely into the overall circumstances of the registration order.
This letter should be in English and should have most of the answers on the following questions:
1. Full contacts of the firm.
2. Date when relationship started.
3. Name of person or company having an account and address.
4. General recommendations as to character, business qualifications, etc.
5. Name of the Accountant or Lawyer in charge of the client`s account
6. Date of issuing of letter.
