Shell companies are not illegal

Last week, the Panama papers have drawn all attention of media worldwide. While it is of course very interesting to see how many well-known people try to deny they have anything to do with the off-shore companies that are named, one should not forget that shell companies remain legal and offer a lot of advantages.  At HDS we offer you all the services you need for business addresses and more in Brussels.

 

Providers of  shell companies in Panama…

Shell companies in Panama and other tax havens advertise their services on their web pages quite openly : according to the website Panama Offshore Worldwide (http://offshoreww.com/) it just takes USD 900,- (approx. EUR 790,-) to set up a "regular Panama corporation" hiring 'Panama Offshore Worldwide' as a service provider. All you need are the names, addresses and passport copies of three directors. The anonymous version costs USD 1.200,- with an additional USD 650,- annual administration fee. In contrast to the "regular Panama corporation" Panama Offshore Worldwide provides three "nominee directors." A Panama Foundation is recommended for asset protection and is especially suitable for inheritance cases. For a fee of USD 1.300,- the client gets maximum anonymity while avoiding a suspicious paper trail. A combined foundation-cum-letter-box company costs you USD 2.400,- and is especially useful when personal wealth needs to kept separated from operating capital. The combination of an anonymous solution with a Panama Foundation "forms a good basis for distancing accumulated assets from the operating capital." This, the Panama firm boasts, "will give us the time to keep your assets out of touch and save you legal fees.”

 

…have now big problems with their reputation

The fees of Panama Offshore Worldwide are similar to the ones of other providers, which offer their services on the web. Clients can even book a "virtual office" with a "prestigious business address" in Panama. "Live phone answering, mail and parcel receiving" are part of the packages offered on the website of Panama Offshore Systems - available for USD 190 per month. Despite their openness on the web, all service providers in Panama are now embarrassed with the Panama Papers and, according to different media, refuse to answer questions, because they are very anxious to be considered henchmen of criminals, although they stress also that they have done nothing illegal.

 

Nothing illegal and if in Brussels it won’t hurt your reputation

There are businesses and people, who can benefit from an offshore company in Panama in a legal way. Wealthy individuals in Latin America, for example, have used shell companies to hide their assets so as to avoid being targeted by kidnappers. Collectors, who purchase works of art by auction, were also regular clients in offshore company schemes. Yachts and real estate can also be sold a lot easier avoiding time-consuming bureaucracy, when a boat or a villa is owned by an offshore company. All the owner has to do in this case is sell the entire shell company. Shell companies are not illegal. But they have now a bad reputation because of the Panama Papers. So if you want a perfectly legal  solution that doesn’t hurt your reputation, you can ask HDS to offer you a solution that perfectly suits your needs.