Offshore Asset Protection Secrets They Don't Want You To Know

For every moderately affluent person there comes the time to start thinking about the future: namely asset protection and preparing for the worst.

Although we can all hope for the best, life shows us that those who are prepared win time and time again.

Its not just the incredibly rich who have to think about these things, these days it's anyone who actually earns money that may find himself in danger of getting framed and railroaded by a lawyer or inept government official.

The ways that you can be caught out are various.

"Selective prosecution" means that those with visible assets are far more likely to get a criminal indictment.

Outrageous civil forfeiture legislation makes sure that the government can confiscate almost everything you own on the basis of a "tip-off" or suspicious activity report that contains no real evidence.

One of the best ways to protect yourself against this kind of unfortunate eventuality is by keeping assets in a bolt-hole that only YOU can find. Often this will come in the the form of an offshore bank account supported by an offshore company or trust to protect your identity and keep your private store of wealth a secret.

Here are the 5 most important factors to take into account when choosing a secret bank account:

1) The physical account should be located as far from your country of citizenship as possible. If you live in the US, that means a country with little or no American ties, geographical distance and a bank prefereably located outside of the EU (since the US increasingly intergrates its own databases with EU countries and has access to theirs).

2) The offshore bank account should be easily accessible, with online access and a credit/debit card to withdraw your funds that works internationally.

3) The account is ideally not held in your name. The accounts that most succesfully protect your privacy (and therefore the best fror asset protection) are those in the name of an offshore company. If that offshore company is located in a secret jurisdiction where company directors are not named, then it becomes extremely difficult to find out who owns the accounts. Additionally, "nominee directors" or even "nominee" account holders can be used to front an account, but this is more expensive.

4) The bank should have no record of you name. You may be surprised how easy the answer to this question is, although its an answer which most offshore practioners would prefer to be kept secret..

You bank through another entity. Banking with another offshore entity like a trust company or offshore trust is the most effective way to shield your own identity. While your money is held in the name of the entity, through written trust agreements you the client keep legal ownership.

5) Tell abosolutely no-one else about your account. The number one reason why most secret bolt-holes are pirzed open is not through FBI investigations, or reviews of international transactions, but through tip-offs from human beings. The less people that know about your wealth and where it is, the better prepared you will be.

Perhaps you have decided that it's time to prepare yourself against whatever fate will bring. Maybe you still think its OK to wait a few years and think about it. But remember that as soon as a legal case is in motion against you, the chances of succesfully moving your funds offshore drop exponentially. The earlier you decide to protect yourself, the more comfortable you will be 10 or 20 years down the line.

Cheers, and Good luck!