Prelude: Hello All, Hi @Admin , I hope I am not breaking any rules - this is my first post aimed at sharing my knowledge of offshore banking. I have lurked quite a bit in the last days, reading about the change of offshore business and banking in the last 4 years which is evident through the themes of this forum. I am sharing this information to test whether it against the collective knowledge of this forum has. Please point out inaccuracies as I am about to pull the trigger on the venture. Also, let me know if there is an easier way.
I did not previously own an offshore business, yet my family has until the death of my *f**** 4 years ago, at what time the operation dissolved, and at what time my *m*** decided the fees were too high and closed all accounts/delisted the company. Recently, however, my *b**** started their own business in a different country and tried to apply our anecdotal knowledge to start one up and gain in a tax haven, a perhaps gain an unfair advantage due to the restrictive nature of my place of residence (IBC subject to tax when management is resident).
Priorities 1) Privacy, non-AEOI imperative.
2) Willingness to work with tax-havens and IBC/Trust structures
3) Low deposit amount (<5000k)
4) Ease of doing business online (mobile banking is a stretch, so simple PC banking will do)
5) Low transaction fees
6) A secure bank that won't go pear shape.
7) Remote acc opening
Naturally, we could not find any such institutions anymore. Our Latvian bank of the past will soon remain a thing of the past, and reading about what had been happening in the past 4 years was a tad bit heartbreaking.
By mere coincidence, I was chatting with an ex-colleague who now works for Deloitte and he was dumbfounded I did not think to use my country of origin - Serbia/Montenegro for banking.
You see, the biggest drawbacks of RS/ME are the language barrier for most people and no remote account opening. What led me to this forum was a duckduckgo search that pointed to a thread bashing RS/ME banking/companies due to security/privacy issues, and I can attest, this could not further from the truth, in my anecdotal experience. Like Latvia, Russia, Cyprus, RS/ME are places where anything goes and corruption is legal (no seriously, the court just upheld that any gifts to medical staff up to 450 euros are completely fine). This is a place that when I needed to show proof of funds ($50k) to study abroad a few banks accepted ~50$ and some drinks to issue me the fictitious statements. I still have them somewhere...
The specifics:
You can open a non-resident account in almost any foreign or domestic Serbian bank, however, the due diligence varies from bank to bank. Here are the typical requirements:
1) Excerpt from the domicile country register- Original form or in a copy certified by a public notary and other competent authorities abroad, not older than 3 months from the date of being submitted to the Bank, depending on the country of issuing, the verification is done with the apostil
2) Certified translation into Serbian not older than 3 months from the date of being submitted to the Bank
3) Extract from the law / other regulations, if the non-resident account is to be opened on such grounds (A copy and certified translation)
4) Document issued by the relevant authority showing tax identification number, if the application refers to the opening of a RSD non-resident account (Original or a copy for inspection )
5) Specimen signature cards completed by persons authorized to sign transaction orders in respect of funds on the non-resident account, signed by the authorized person specified in the excerpt from the domicile country register or person to whom the authorized person has delegated the right of signing, and/or specified in any other valid document of incorporation certified by a seal (Bank’s format)
6) Personal document that can be used in order to identify the signature of the person authorized for representing a non-resident (original or certified copy)
7) Written authorization (power of attorney) in the event that the account is to be opened by a proxy, according to the authorization which contains the following: name, surname, title, date, place of birth, temporary or permanent residence and personal ID number or ID number of the non-resident –individual, type of document and number of personal document, date and place of issue, and name of the issuer, certified by the competent body.
8) Translation of the authorization (power of attorney) into Serbian
Document yranslations are 5-7Eur per page where there are more than 20.
So I have found a few legal firms, which unfortunately have no web presence, and discussed logistics with them. Here is what I was told:
1) Serbia, much like 10-15 years ago when I was last there, is nowhere near joining the EU, and the AEOI is nowhere near to being introduced.
2) Most banks, and almost all private banks will work with offshore startups with no history.
3) There are banks that require $0 starting deposit, $0 joining fee for the corporation. Don't worry, they get you on transactions and wires. (0.3% to 0.4% per transaction plus a small flat amount) Maintenance fees are negligable (120-200/ year).
4) I found that online banking is not the easiest, unfortunately, but it works.
5) As mentioned, transaction fees were a bit tough if your business has a lot of them.
6) Unfortunately, TransferWise will not work with Serbian banks yet. They say they are comming soon....
7) Most importantly: Power of attorney is needed to remain anonymous. It is revoked after initial set up. Fee is 100eur every time you need to get a lawyer intervention, but this is rare when money flows into the account from abroad. The fee can sometimes be higher if bribes are required. I think bribes are the reason all of this has to be done in person.
8) Safety and liquidity: 50K is insured, yet many residents are not trusting banks after the 90s. My family was affected as well, however, the gov has paid us out (5-10 years later in installments).
9) Issues can potentially arise when taking money outside of Serbia (over 10k/month), but not from Serbia or the the Bank, but from the foreign jurisdictions where the money is being sent. I am told there is significant monitoring apparatus employed to survey the transactions coming out of the country that is not followed with any documentation (like contracts/wills/deeds) Unfortunately, EU worries more about Serbian corruption than the country. The current system exists so the elites can rob the place. The way they do it is they eventually (After some good standing) open an account in a reputable bank and bulk export to diversify.
My total USD investment if I pull the trigger:
Banking in Serbia $450 (400eur) in fees, 0$ deposit. $150/year
Here is a bank that was recommended to me.
https://www.aikbanka.rs/corporate-a...ning-of-an-account/accounts-of-a-non-resident
In other posts I have seen OTP/SBER/Intesa/Erste/Eurobank etc...
I did not previously own an offshore business, yet my family has until the death of my *f**** 4 years ago, at what time the operation dissolved, and at what time my *m*** decided the fees were too high and closed all accounts/delisted the company. Recently, however, my *b**** started their own business in a different country and tried to apply our anecdotal knowledge to start one up and gain in a tax haven, a perhaps gain an unfair advantage due to the restrictive nature of my place of residence (IBC subject to tax when management is resident).
Priorities 1) Privacy, non-AEOI imperative.
2) Willingness to work with tax-havens and IBC/Trust structures
3) Low deposit amount (<5000k)
4) Ease of doing business online (mobile banking is a stretch, so simple PC banking will do)
5) Low transaction fees
6) A secure bank that won't go pear shape.
7) Remote acc opening
Naturally, we could not find any such institutions anymore. Our Latvian bank of the past will soon remain a thing of the past, and reading about what had been happening in the past 4 years was a tad bit heartbreaking.
By mere coincidence, I was chatting with an ex-colleague who now works for Deloitte and he was dumbfounded I did not think to use my country of origin - Serbia/Montenegro for banking.
You see, the biggest drawbacks of RS/ME are the language barrier for most people and no remote account opening. What led me to this forum was a duckduckgo search that pointed to a thread bashing RS/ME banking/companies due to security/privacy issues, and I can attest, this could not further from the truth, in my anecdotal experience. Like Latvia, Russia, Cyprus, RS/ME are places where anything goes and corruption is legal (no seriously, the court just upheld that any gifts to medical staff up to 450 euros are completely fine). This is a place that when I needed to show proof of funds ($50k) to study abroad a few banks accepted ~50$ and some drinks to issue me the fictitious statements. I still have them somewhere...
The specifics:
You can open a non-resident account in almost any foreign or domestic Serbian bank, however, the due diligence varies from bank to bank. Here are the typical requirements:
1) Excerpt from the domicile country register- Original form or in a copy certified by a public notary and other competent authorities abroad, not older than 3 months from the date of being submitted to the Bank, depending on the country of issuing, the verification is done with the apostil
2) Certified translation into Serbian not older than 3 months from the date of being submitted to the Bank
3) Extract from the law / other regulations, if the non-resident account is to be opened on such grounds (A copy and certified translation)
4) Document issued by the relevant authority showing tax identification number, if the application refers to the opening of a RSD non-resident account (Original or a copy for inspection )
5) Specimen signature cards completed by persons authorized to sign transaction orders in respect of funds on the non-resident account, signed by the authorized person specified in the excerpt from the domicile country register or person to whom the authorized person has delegated the right of signing, and/or specified in any other valid document of incorporation certified by a seal (Bank’s format)
6) Personal document that can be used in order to identify the signature of the person authorized for representing a non-resident (original or certified copy)
7) Written authorization (power of attorney) in the event that the account is to be opened by a proxy, according to the authorization which contains the following: name, surname, title, date, place of birth, temporary or permanent residence and personal ID number or ID number of the non-resident –individual, type of document and number of personal document, date and place of issue, and name of the issuer, certified by the competent body.
8) Translation of the authorization (power of attorney) into Serbian
Document yranslations are 5-7Eur per page where there are more than 20.
So I have found a few legal firms, which unfortunately have no web presence, and discussed logistics with them. Here is what I was told:
1) Serbia, much like 10-15 years ago when I was last there, is nowhere near joining the EU, and the AEOI is nowhere near to being introduced.
2) Most banks, and almost all private banks will work with offshore startups with no history.
3) There are banks that require $0 starting deposit, $0 joining fee for the corporation. Don't worry, they get you on transactions and wires. (0.3% to 0.4% per transaction plus a small flat amount) Maintenance fees are negligable (120-200/ year).
4) I found that online banking is not the easiest, unfortunately, but it works.
5) As mentioned, transaction fees were a bit tough if your business has a lot of them.
6) Unfortunately, TransferWise will not work with Serbian banks yet. They say they are comming soon....
7) Most importantly: Power of attorney is needed to remain anonymous. It is revoked after initial set up. Fee is 100eur every time you need to get a lawyer intervention, but this is rare when money flows into the account from abroad. The fee can sometimes be higher if bribes are required. I think bribes are the reason all of this has to be done in person.
8) Safety and liquidity: 50K is insured, yet many residents are not trusting banks after the 90s. My family was affected as well, however, the gov has paid us out (5-10 years later in installments).
9) Issues can potentially arise when taking money outside of Serbia (over 10k/month), but not from Serbia or the the Bank, but from the foreign jurisdictions where the money is being sent. I am told there is significant monitoring apparatus employed to survey the transactions coming out of the country that is not followed with any documentation (like contracts/wills/deeds) Unfortunately, EU worries more about Serbian corruption than the country. The current system exists so the elites can rob the place. The way they do it is they eventually (After some good standing) open an account in a reputable bank and bulk export to diversify.
My total USD investment if I pull the trigger:
Banking in Serbia $450 (400eur) in fees, 0$ deposit. $150/year
Here is a bank that was recommended to me.
https://www.aikbanka.rs/corporate-a...ning-of-an-account/accounts-of-a-non-resident
In other posts I have seen OTP/SBER/Intesa/Erste/Eurobank etc...
