Buy property in UK with offshore company? - advice needed

[cheektocheek]

I have some gold bullion I bought with bitcoin from a legit gold bullion company however when I go to a conveyance solicitor they are required to do AML
checks and therefore check the source of my funds.
Selling the gold and have the deposits from the company hitting my bank account isn't working either as they want to know how I found the
money to buy the gold and I can't answer this. My idea was to setup an offshore company and have the gold proceeds sent there and with that company buy UK property?
What is your "source of funds" questions should be easier to be answered with an offshore structure?
I can have an offshore structure where the beneficiary has no residence/business/presence in the UK whatsoever so CRS wouldn't matter, right?

I am looking for an expert to advice me on how to go on about this. Is there anyone who can sort me out? Even for a fee.

 

[James Turner]

It is possible to create an offshore company and to deposit the gold proceeds into the company account. I am of the opinion that any Solicitor in the UK will look at source of funds whether this is from you and the gold or from an offshore company, where they should technically ask the same questions. The additional issue is that a lot of UK Solicitors do not like offshore companies so you will need to work with a law firm willing to work for an offshore company. There are plenty and we work with several but I doubt that due diligence queries will be easier as a company. If the beneficiary of the company is not a UK resident then CRS with the UK will not be a concern, but may be in their country of residence, wherever that is.

 

[cheektocheek]

It is possible to create an offshore company and to deposit the gold proceeds into the company account. I am of the opinion that any Solicitor in the UK will look at source of funds whether this is from you and the gold or from an offshore company, where they should technically ask the same questions. The additional issue is that a lot of UK Solicitors do not like offshore companies so you will need to work with a law firm willing to work for an offshore company. There are plenty and we work with several but I doubt that due diligence queries will be easier as a company. If the beneficiary of the company is not a UK resident then CRS with the UK will not be a concern, but may be in their country of residence, wherever that is.

I appreciate your reply. I would imagine someone knowledgeable in the field would be able to invent a reason to satisfy AML regulations.
Fake sale contracts that took place in a foreign country etc. Many solicitors here in UK just want to tick boxes. They aren't going to investigate much of anything.

For me it is all about buying the first property and avoiding CRS reporting from then on. Then one can sell this asset and use this sale as source of funds. Its all about the beginning. The main reason I want this setup is to get me to point one. Once the ball rolling it is much easier then.

When I open the offshore structure I am happy to give them a UK address and I wouldn't care what CRS reports to UK as the beneficiary
has nothing in the UK, no bank account, no utility bill in his name, absolutely nothing. UK authorities can't trace this person anywhere.

My question is what happens to the info I share with the bank? Can I tell the bank am a UK resident when in "reality" I am not?

The beneficiary, in reality does not exist (Name/dob are made up), only the person in the photo and the physical ID document exists which pass electronic ID validation services like Jumio so no one can tell this is fake unless they are experts and get hold of the actual physical document and scrutinize it. How often offshore bank asks to see the real the real thing if they aren't suspicious of anything?

Lastly, are offshore banks relaxed with regards to money coming in via the wire system? What is the chance they freeze your bank account because X person or company from a first world country just sent you 1 mil and the reason for doing the freeze is because they want to ask you how did you earn this money?

 

[cheektocheek]

James, are you able to recommend a sort of "open minded" uk law firm that deals with offshore companies? Open minded in the sense as we all are to be here on this forum.

 

[Tax Cow]

If you bought gold with Bitcoin, your statement (or even screenshots in some cases) from a Bitcoin exchange suit as proof for source of funds - at least it answers how you got the gold.

You only have an issue if the bank wants to harass further, and ask how you got the Bitcoins to buy gold.

If you have 1M in gold, open ~3 bank accounts in different institutions to sell gold for fiat (333K each), and buy pre-plan property. Execute each sub-payment from a different bank account to mitigate risk of AML harassment over large sums. I'm in E-commerce and use multiple accounts too - some months of the year I get double or triple volume, and I'm just not interested in playing compliance games with the banks because of peaks.

PS: Owning UK property through an offshore company is a very bad idea from tax perspective since 2017. It's also a pink flag for FI's. Open a UK Ltd instead, and use nominees if you need a layer of privacy for the Companies House public database.

Gl,

 

[cheektocheek]

If you bought gold with Bitcoin, your statement (or even screenshots in some cases) from a Bitcoin exchange suit as proof for source of funds - at least it answers how you got the gold.

You only have an issue if the bank wants to harass further, and ask how you got the Bitcoins to buy gold.

If you have 1M in gold, open ~3 bank accounts in different institutions to sell gold for fiat (333K each), and buy pre-plan property. Execute each sub-payment from a different bank account to mitigate risk of AML harassment over large sums. I'm in E-commerce and use multiple accounts too - some months of the year I get double or triple volume, and I'm just not interested in playing compliance games with the banks because of peaks.

PS: Owning UK property through an offshore company is a very bad idea from tax perspective since 2017. It's also a pink flag for FI's. Open a UK Ltd instead, and use nominees if you need a layer of privacy for the Companies House public database.

Gl,

I would imagine tax havens have very laxed AML regulations. I can't imagine them freezing accounts without serious cause just because they speculate money might be dodgy? By their vary nature, surely, they must realize a lot of people want to send money to them that isn't exactly clean.

 

[cheektocheek]

Does anyone experienced in the industry know if tax haves can seriously harass bank account holders for no good reason but purely on speculation just on the basis of receiving a large sum? I am not talking 100million.

 

[Tax Cow]

@cheektocheek Your assumptions are wrong - either based off of mass media clickbait stories or movies. Tax havens would like to keep everything in the shadows, as they did in 80's and 90's, but foreign powers force them to comply with alien laws (Tax residency, AML, CFT) written in places like US, EU and the UK.

The tax haven does not have to comply, but it will then get isolated from the rest of the world - no SWIFT wires, no correspondent banking relationships, limited access to international trade because invoices issued by companies in their territory are no longer recognized overseas.

Lastly, the financial institutions that operate in tax havens have to consider their reputation in on-shore jurisdictions. Getting tagged as a laundromat, even if only in a tiny offshore branch, is not something a reputable bank can afford - risk of fines in the HQ jurisdiction, crumbling stock price - to name a few drawbacks.