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Since its inception, The Sovereign Society has guided members through the minefields of international law, and this has chronicled the accelerating decline of financial privacy in many jurisdictions once considered secure, private havens for personal assets.  At the root of this pernicious erosion are the hyped-up "wars" on drugs, money laundering and terrorism. The war on drugs gave birth to money laundering laws, and together these legal weapons are being used to destroy privacy and bank secrecy. Rising terrorism (inspired by a rising resentment of American intervention in the politics of foreign nations) engenders the need for random searches, wiretapping and 24/7 surveillance. Where two or three decades ago there were numerous haven nations where privacy was expected and delivered, the high-tax nations have pushed, cajoled and threatened until the field of choices has been dramatically reduced.  How do individuals interested in privacy and security choose the best haven for wealth?  To begin with, you should understand that each "offshore" haven is unique. A country that provides the best banking regulations won’t necessarily be the best place for incorporating a business, just as the best jurisdiction for privacy won’t necessarily be the best for an offshore trust. Yet, there are general guidelines for choosing an asset haven that apply across the board. The following are the more important considerations. 1. Is the haven a completely independent sovereign nation? Or is it a territory, dependency or colony of a larger country? While the government of a dependency or territory may enact favorable legislation to attract foreign investment, such legislation will be hostage to the political and economic environment prevailing in the mother country.  Nothing illustrates this point more than the recent events in the British Virgin Islands. An overseas territory of the United Kingdom, beginning in the late 1970s, the BVI, with U.K. encouragement and funding, developed one of the world’s largest and most sophisticated offshore financial sectors. Indeed, it became second only to Hong Kong in the formation of international business companies, registering nearly 40,000 new corporations annually. With a land area smaller than Washington, D.C., and a population of 21,000, providing a home for almost 400,000 companies provided substantial revenues both to the government and the country’s financial sector, along with ending the BVI’s historical dependence on U.K. foreign aid. A key provision of the law that made the BVI so attractive as a corporate domicile was that shares in an IBC could be issued in "bearer" form. While this provision was not unique to the BVI, it meant the actual ownership of the corporation could be kept confidential. However, beginning in the late 1990s, escalating pressure from the U.K. Home Office and international organizations threatened the BVI’s ability to offer bearer shares and enforce other aspects of its laws protecting privacy and wealth. Indeed, the U.K. Home Office threatened to use an arcane provision of colonial law called an "Order in Council" to enact binding BVI legislation, over the heads of the local elected representatives, if the BVI government failed to dismantle its favorable laws on its own.

The Sovereign Society, headquartered in Waterford, Ireland, was founded in 1998 to provide proven legal strategies for individuals to protect their wealth and privacy, lower their taxes and to help improve their personal freedom and liberty. The Society's highly qualified contacts recommend only carefully chosen banks and investment advisors as well as financial and legal professionals located in select tax and asset haven jurisdictions around the world. The Society provides advice concerning the establishement and operation of offshore bank accounts, asset protection trusts, international business corporations (IBCs), private foundations, second citizenships and foreign residency, as well as practical safeguards for financial, Internet and personal privacy.  The Sovereign Society stands alone in fulfilling this singular, international offshore service role for its members. To learn more about our organization and how you too can become a member, Click the link below:

Faced with this overwhelming pressure, the BVI recently re-wrote their laws regarding IBCs. One of the casualties was the ability of IBCs to issue bearer shares. The BVI is only one of the U.K.’s overseas territories. The others—Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the Turks & Caicos Islands—were subject to similar pressure from the U.K. Home Office. Closer to the United Kingdom itself are several jurisdictions with a different constitutional status than overseas territories, but still subject to substantial interference in their financial affairs by the U.K. government. These "Crown dependencies"—the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey and Sark—have also been forced to dismantle many of their favorable laws designed to attract foreign capital. 

2. Does the haven respect privacy? And is privacy built into its law? Under what circumstances can creditors or the government obtain information about your wealth, or even seize it? Financial privacy has gotten a bad reputation in recent years. The prevailing attitude is, "if you’re not committing a crime, why do you need privacy?" 

This attitude ignores the very real need for privacy in a nation such as the United States where there exist very few legislative protections for it. It is worth noting that a sue-happy lawyer or identity thief, armed with nothing more sophisticated than a personal computer, can in a few minutes unearth a great deal of financial information about whatever U.S. assets you own as a prelude to plunder.
This is the reason why strong privacy laws are a must in any haven that you might consider. Some countries have a tradition of secrecy but no legal requirement enforcing it; others have laws that allow the local government access to information while pretending that the government is sworn to secrecy. Others have bank-secrecy laws but frequently ignore them, or have laws filled with exceptions. 
Ideally, secrecy should be built into the legal code and violations should be prosecuted with civil or criminal sanctions. However, even in jurisdictions with the best privacy laws, it’s foolish to violate tax or money-laundering laws of your home country. In their search for tax-evaders, big governments have a history of illegal espionage, bribery and coercion to get the information they seek. Moreover, you may wake up one morning to find the haven nation’s laws changed and your "secret" records in the hands of your home government. Make sure you comply with the laws in your home country!

From the standpoint of the tradition and legal basis for banking secrecy, the four countries that stand out are Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland. 
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The four countries that stand out are Austria, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Switzerland.

Liechtenstein has some of the strongest bank secrecy laws in existence. Since Liechtenstein is one of the five richest countries in the world in per capita income and personal wealth, it is unlikely to be swayed away from privacy by promises or threats. 

Luxembourg is one of the fastest growing financial centers in the world and has seen a massive influx of capital in the last decade due to its liberal banking and tax laws. Although its secrecy laws only date back to the early 1980s, it has maintained a long tradition of banking confidentiality. Information will only be released to foreign governments if the depositor has been charged with a crime that is related to the account that is also a crime in Luxembourg. 

Switzerland has been economically and politically stable for centuries, enjoys a low rate of inflation and the Swiss franc is one of the strongest currencies in the world. It remains the model from which all other financial centers are compared. Although Switzerland has succumbed to the pressure of the U.S. government to loosen its strict secrecy laws, for safe banking it still rates as one of the top havens. 
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Political stability is a major consideration. During the last half of the 20th century, Hong Kong was a bastion of financial stability, growth and privacy. Hong Kong achieved this in spite of being a dependency of the United Kingdom. But when the U.K.’s lease on the territory ran out in 1997, control returned to China, casting a deep shadow of doubt about Hong Kong’s future as an asset haven, a fact underscored by the continued exodus of wealth from the country.

4. Do the citizens support the haven’s offshore status? In some havens, such as the Bahamas, the local citizens are not the primary beneficiaries of banking secrecy. Since taxes are low to non-existent and the local legal eagles have not evolved into predators, locals have little interest in privacy laws or bank secrecy. This contrasts with Switzerland, Austria and now Panama, where privacy laws and traditions affect a significant segment of the citizenry.

5. Is the haven important to your government? The United Arab Emirates, because it is a "friendly" nation in an unstable region, enjoys the favor of the U.S. government. Haven income is important to it and Washington won’t want to lean too hard on it over a "non-strategic" issue. Another example is Panama, with its strategically important canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Cayman Islands, on the other hand, has little or no strategic value to Washington.

6. Does the haven wave a "red flag?" Public dealings with high-profile havens can raise a "red flag" in tax collector’s offices around the world. The Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Liechtenstein are examples. Panama, Austria and Luxembourg are another step below that level. Bermuda is lower still, though it doesn’t offer the secrecy the others do.

7. How efficient and convenient are the services? Are competent personnel available to serve your needs? How well do they speak English? How easy is it to visit the place? Nothing substitutes for personal contact with the people who are trusted with your assets. It’s best to visit your money periodically, and so much the better if it’s in a place that you enjoy visiting.

8. What taxes are levied on the haven’s users? The first requirement of a haven is to offer capital preservation. Nonetheless, to include a haven country which scores heavily in capital preservation but which also has high withholding, corporate, estate or other taxes, is to ignore an important consideration.

As I’ve written in the book, Forbidden Knowledge, true financial security must include: the maximum possible tax avoidance allowed by law; the greatest possible financial privacy; the highest level of asset protection; and, access to the most profitable investments available. 

Sovereign individuals select haven nations for placement of our assets according to the relative safety and privacy such places guaranteed by law. Those who move all or a portion of their assets offshore simply recognize reality, that governments in the major nations are engaged in a systematic destruction of their citizens’ right to financial privacy. Sadly, we must look to foreign asset havens for the sort of economic freedom once guaranteed by our homeland. The number of safe havens is dwindling, but they still exist.