The two possibilities are a “Panama bearer share corporation owning a bank account” or a “Panama foundation owning a Panama Corporation owning a bank account”. Essentially instead of the corporation owned by bearer shares, it is owned by a foundation. Many people ask why they need this extra layer. The Panama foundation is a much more powerful asset protection vehicle for the following reasons:

1) A Panama foundation legally has no owner.

2) A panama foundation is a respected entity (more so than a Panama bearer share corporation) Just imagine entering into a contract with a third party, and you are asked who owns the corporation. It sounds much more respectable and is far more reassuring to the third party to hear the corporation owned by XYZ Foundation than some anonymous bearer shares. This matters more times than you might think, especially if you intend to use the corporation outside of Panama where bearer share corporations are not the norm.

3) In a lawsuit a judge can never order you to get money out of a foundation because legally nobody can own a foundation and thus it would be an illegal order. Judges cannot make illegal orders. (They can’t order you to break the law.)

4) A foundation can own boats, cars, houses, property, jewelry, etc.

5) Money can be swept from the corporation account into a “hidden” foundation account, making attacks on your money, only a warning signal. The foundation layer gives you advanced warning when someone is after your assets because only the corporation is visible. Warning: This layer is completely useless if your foundation/corporation is not setup correctly. For this approach to be effective, the offshore foundation and corporation must be setup and operated correctly.

Can you get away with just an offshore foundation? — If you intend on doing active, for profit business you need both the foundation and corporation because the one thing a foundation cannot do is engage in “for profit” business activities. A Panama foundation can, however, earn passive income, by investing in stocks, real estate, and other business such as a Panama corporation. To get around this restriction, the foundation is setup in such a away that it owns a corporation, which in turn can engage in any business activity. If, on the other hand, you are only interested in protecting and investing assets you already have, then you do not need a corporation. (You would be best served, in this case, by only purchasing a foundation + bank account package for $1795. A Panama foundation, corporation with two bank accounts is $3300. (Just a Panama anonymous bearer share corporation with bank acount is $1795)

Panama Bank Account Info –The bank account is with a large well established bank having many billions in assets, that takes accounts by “introduction”. Service is available in English or Spanish. They have online banking, including the ability to send a wire. You also get a visa debit card which works all over the world (including ATM machines to withdraw cash). The card is NOT linked to you in any way. The card can be useful as a way to withdraw money from the corporate expense account privately.

Although Switzerland was once the offshore asset protection capital of the world, it has caved in to pressure from the US and other countries. Switzerland now regularly co-operates with tax authorities from other countries under a myriad of tax treaties. It also co-operates with tax evasion investigations. Bank secrecy in Switzerland is all but gone. Panama, however, having no tax treaties, does not co-operate with any other countries inquiries. Panama does not consider tax evasion a crime and as such does not help other countries in their investigations. This includes MLAT requests.

Switzerland was once “down to earth”, protecting those oppressed by offering them numbered accounts. Those days are long gone. Now Switzerland bankers walk around with their “noses in the air”. Minimum deposit requirements are now at a staggering $250K for the well established banks. Even the small banks require a $10k minimum balance.

Swiss bankers do not like a declining balance over several months. If you operate your account in this way, depending on the age of your account, you may be asked to close your account. This is a very snobbish attitude, but very real. A new Swiss bank account holder should be wary of this restriction. Panama banks do not take issue with a large deposit followed by regular withdrawals.

The banks in Switzerland are large and well respected. They do provide a safe place to store your money. The problem is that bank secrecy in Switzerland has eroded so much that they now ask you for social security number (if you are US citizen). Panama, of course, does not have this requirement and has strong bank secrecy laws, both on the books, and in practice.

The Swiss banks, under Swiss law, must exchange tax information freely, under their many tax treaties (including a USA – Swiss Tax Treaty). Sadly, this has caused the demise of the once world famous Swiss bank secrecy. Today Panama is the new Country of choice when it comes to asset protection and bank secrecy. Panama does not co-operate with any countries and has no tax treaties. Only in severe criminal investigations is bank secrecy lifted. Panama doesn’t recognize tax evasion as a crime, since it is not a crime in Panama.

Although Swiss banks are larger than Panama banks, many people are now choosing Panama to protect their assets. Panama has much stronger bank secrecy laws, both on the books, and in practice. Panama banks are also very large and well established by anyone’s standards.

Panama Corporations are the most anonymous corporations in the world. Incorporating your offshore company in Panama has many advantages.

Panama Corporation Anonymity

Under Panama law an S.A. corporation (bearer share corporation) can be owned by the physical holder of certificates of stock with no recorded owner in any database or public registry. In fact the government does not even know who the owners of a bearer share corporation are. The Nominee Directors names are recorded in the public registry to preserve your anonymity.

You can effectively transfer the stock certificates privately with no record of the sale appearing anywhere. The new owner of the offshore company can replace the directors with his own directors and even have resignation letters in his possession for the directors.

What can you do with your Panama Offshore Company?

A Panama corporation can own bank accounts, stock trading accounts, real estate, boats, planes, cars, art, jewelry, businesses, and other valuable assets all without revealing the actual ownership of the offshore company.

Additional complex strategies can be employed using the lawyer to perform certain functions for the corporation. In Panama there is strong privileged communication between the attorney and the client. Please enquire by phone regarding any specific needs you may have.

The Panama IBC, Banking Secrecy and Offshore Company Formation

A bank anywhere in the civilized world will require a beneficial owner for any bank account and will also require identity documents. In Panama, the beneficial owner can be a foundation, which is not owned by anyone. Some countries do consider the beneficiary of the foundation to be the benficial owner. Combined with foreign corporation ownership reporting requirements, this can pose a problem. To avoid this problem a self-owned trust structure can be created.

Panama bearer share corporations can be completed in two to three business days after all the information is submitted. We also have shelf corporations and 24 hour account openings at one of the largest banks here in Panama for those under time constraints.

Panama Bearer Share Corporation Information

For a Corporation in Panama the shares may be issued in physical bearer form similar to the old bearer bonds with or without any par value assigned to the shares. The only documents publicly recorded are the articles of incorporation, which typically will list the officers and directors who are the nominee directors provided for you by us as your the registered agent. The actual owners would be the natural or judicial persons who actually have the physical shares of the offshore company, which may be made out, in blank with no names on them. The identity of the owners do not appear in any public record of any sort and the government of Panama does not even know who they are. There is no requirement to report any changes in ownership to anyone.

The annual fees Panama Government charges for Panamanian Corporations is $300.00. The total annual renewal fees starting in the second year is only $695.00 and this includes the $300 government fees, resident agent address for the corporation, and three nominee directors. Many other law firms charge as much as $1000-$1500 so be careful to inquire about renewal costs when choosing a law firm.

Panama requires no minimum amount of paid in capital for a corporation.

Annual meetings of the shareholders, which would be the owners, or directors, which would be the nominee directors of the corporation, are not required.

The corporations financial records can be kept anywhere in the world which makes legal discovery exasperating.

The Panama Corporation Resident Agent does not need to keep the share certificates in his possession and has no obligation to maintain any records for the corporation. Share certificates can be kept at any location in the world and the location need not be disclosed to anyone.

Our Panama Bank Account Guarantee:

If you get your offshore corporation through us we will guarantee you to get a Panama Bank Account without having to travel to Panama as long as you can supply reasonable identification like a notarized passport, a notarized drivers license, bank reference letter, and a business reference letter plus a minimum deposit of $1000.00.

Panama Bank Features

The Panama Bank will have people that speak English and Spanish on the customer support staff, they will have online banking including international wire transfer capability, and they will have ATM cards or Visa Cards. You can have a checking account or savings account. The account can be in US dollars or Euros.