Offshore bank accounts are mostly used by spies and criminals -- It would be silly to say that this does not happen, but the reality is that most of the funds kept offshore are deposited by fortune 500 companies shielding their asset base as part of their risk management strategy. I personally know a TV personality that every person reading this knows, and He banks in Panama among other countries to reduce his risk and protect his assets.



Banking offshore is just too much trouble for the average guy -- If you tried to setup your offshore banking structure yourself without the aid of an offshore professional this would certainly be true. Today, however, an offshore bank account owned by an offshore company is commonly done and only takes about 5 days. Since governments around the world have been moving to tax individuals on their world wide income, an offshore bank account is usually setup with a bearer share corporation and/or a foundation.

Its not worth going offshore unless you are wealthy -- Since it costs less than $2000 USD for an offshore bank account and a bearer share corporation with all the trimmings, offshore banking is within most people's reach. It is a very strong vehicle to protect your assets from lawsuits. Every business owner should have an offshore bank account and offshore company. In today's lawsuit happy world this is just good business practice.

Because of 9/11 bank secrecy has been eroded severely -- It is true that the MLAT treaty has been adopted all the offshore jurisdictions pretty much, BUT what most people don't understand is that this treaty only allows for co-operation in crimes. The issue under investigation must be a crime in both countries and the requesting country must produce evidence that they have a strong case against you. Also the activity must be a crime in in BOTH countries. Tax evasion is not a crime in Panama for example, and as such the Panama government would not co-operate with an MLAT requests under those circumstances.

You have to visit the offshore jurisdiction where the bank is located. -- This is not true. Everything can be done by phone, fax, email, and courier by an offshore banking professional.

Offshore banking has been destroyed by the MLAT treaty -- If you are engaging in serious criminal activity this statement is true. For most people just trying to protect their assets this statement is totally false. In fact, countries like Panama, only comply in serious criminal cases, and deny many requests. The requesting country has to show that they already have strong evidence that a crime has taken place AND the activity in question has to be a crime in Panama too. So tax evasion, for example, is not a crime in Panama and so Panama would not entertain MLAT requests for information relating to tax evasion.

Tax information is shared between most countries now -- It is true that many countries have entered into tax treaties, but other more reputable offshore jurisdictions have not. Panama, for example, has no tax treaties with anyone.

Someone will find out about my offshore bank account -- Not if you don't tell them. Most offshore accounts are managed over the internet using secure encryption. This is the same encryption used by banks and e-commerce sites around the world. It is secure, trusted, and well tested.

A court can order me to bring back the money -- If you are in a lawsuit already, and you move the money offshore, you must be careful under what circumstances. This will be considered a fraudulent conveyance. If, however, you take the money offshore before a lawsuit starts, and say donate the money to an offshore foundation, the money is not legally yours anymore. The judge cannot force you do something illegal. If the money is not yours he cannot order you to go and get it!

It's impossible to move money offshore without someone being able to track down where it went. -- Moving money to a secret offshore bank account is done by passing the money through a second offshore jurisdiction. For example, if the money is wired to a bank the Cayman Islands and the money is wired again from the Cayman Islands to Panama, it is impossible for anyone to know the money is in Panama.

I can use my offshore bank account to do everything I currently do with my onshore account. -- There is one thing you can't do with an offshore bank account. You can't pay bills online. This is the only feature lacking from most offshore accounts. This is easily rectified by an good offshore asset protection plan by making a portion of the money available in your onshore account. This also brings up another feature that deserves mentioning. Most offshore bank accounts come with a cash card that can be used to withdraw funds anywhere in the world. The card only traces to the corporation which is often a bearer share corporation (meaning the ownership of it is anonymous)

It is illegal to use an offshore bank account -- There is no doubt that you could use an offshore bank account to do something illegal, but opening up an offshore company and bank account is 100% legal. In fact many fortune 500 companies keep much of their assets safe in offshore countries.