Offshore App Publishing

[captaincitrus]

I have an app published to Apple/Google store via a company. This company is NOT in a privacy jurisdiction at all - anyone can search the publisher name and find all my info.

I wish for more privacy from public/authorities since it is a side venture that could jeopardise my career. It is nothing illegal, but would put me in a somewhat awkward position that I would rather avoid. I do need to keep the bank account in the current company/country since its a fintech bank that is instrumental to the app’s operations, and offshore banks just would not cut it.

Can I simply set up a Nevis/Belize/Panama/Seychelles entity, get the DUNS number and transfer ownership of the app to the company? Will Apple/Google have any issues with these jurisdictions? Do I need a nominee shareholder+director or is that overkill?

I am not generally concerned about tax and have no issues paying what is due to the formation country or current country.

 

[clemens]

I don't see why you not should do it that way. Google / apple won't check that once it is approved.

Can I simply set up a Nevis/Belize/Panama/Seychelles entity, get the DUNS number and transfer ownership of the app to the company? Will Apple/Google have any issues with these jurisdictions? Do I need a nominee shareholder+director or is that overkill?

Seychelles and Belize you don't need a nominee, no one can look up UBO !

 

[Asterion]

I have an app published to Apple/Google store via a company. This company is NOT in a privacy jurisdiction at all - anyone can search the publisher name and find all my info.

I wish for more privacy from public/authorities since it is a side venture that could jeopardise my career. It is nothing illegal, but would put me in a somewhat awkward position that I would rather avoid. I do need to keep the bank account in the current company/country since its a fintech bank that is instrumental to the app’s operations, and offshore banks just would not cut it.

Can I simply set up a Nevis/Belize/Panama/Seychelles entity, get the DUNS number and transfer ownership of the app to the company? Will Apple/Google have any issues with these jurisdictions? Do I need a nominee shareholder+director or is that overkill?

I am not generally concerned about tax and have no issues paying what is due to the formation country or current country.

It won't be easy. Google Play will always want a genuine person to be the nominee of the Google Payments account that will be used to receive the monthly payouts from the apps proceedings.
Apple doesn't care, but Google does. So unless you can have a resident/national of the jurisdiction you plan to use to create a Google payments account (which probably has to be the same as the Google developer account that publishes the app), you'll hit a wall.

See this thread and in particular the linked answer by Ben Mcc
https://support.google.com/googlepl...to-submit-required-documents?msgid=238692284#

 

[Houdini]

But does that mean one can have a company as a front while the payouts are made to an individual?

Would that individual still be visible, which is what the OP wants to avoid and therefore intends to register an offshore company?

 

[Asterion]

It's possible google doesn't care too much, but likely the account the payments are then released to has to be that of a company. The problem with the OP's plan is that he needs to become a demonstrable resident or citizen of the jurisdiction he wants the front company to be in. Given the exotic locations he mentioned, this coul dbe difficult.

 

[kilor]

So in other words it is not possible to do what OP want without he is relocating at the same time?

It's possible google doesn't care too much, but likely the account the payments are then released to has to be that of a company. The problem with the OP's plan is that he needs to become a demonstrable resident or citizen of the jurisdiction he wants the front company to be in. Given the exotic locations he mentioned, this coul dbe difficult.

 

[Asterion]

You have to result as a resident of the jurisdiction of your legal entity or convince google that somebody else who's a resident is sufficiently involved in your app business that it makes sense he/she is the person whose name is on the Google Payments Profile.
Might be a national, not a resident of that place, because they base it off something like the passport or a driver's licence, maybe they don't need proof of address for that person.