April 2005 Archives

Why is Panama one of the favorite offshore business centers? This may seem, to some readers, like a lame question, given the history of the country and it's geographical location, literally at a cross-road, but there's allot more to Panama, than people fully understand.

So, to share more information about this Central American Switzerland, and since I've recently published the "Countries Report" issued by the US State Department (see below), which isn't necessarily all good news, I'll add to that a very informative article from the LowTax Network.

The economy of Panama is service-based and heavily weighted toward maritime transportation, commerce, tourism, banking, and financial services. Panama is a major drug-transit country. Panama’s proximity to major drug-producing countries, its sophisticated international banking sector, its US dollar-based economy, and the Colon Free Zone’s (CFZ’s) role as an originating or transshipment point for goods purchased with narcotics dollars through the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange, make the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering.

From The Economist

Today's global businesses have created a new kind of expat

CARLOS GHOSN is a Brazilian who, from next month, will be spending 40% of his time in Paris as the new boss of Renault, 35% in Tokyo where he will continue as the head of Nissan, and 25% elsewhere, most of it in America. Jean-Pierre Garnier is a Frenchman who heads a British drugs company (GlaxoSmithKline) but spends up to 70% of his working life outside Britain and France.

The offshore financial services industry has experienced vast changes over the last few years in terms of product development and regulatory coverage. It has never been more necessary for industry participants to be in the know regarding the current state of play.

Today I'm not writing, or for that matter, working as much as I usually do, because it's a National Holiday here. Amazing how Sao Paulo changes when the rich and upper-middle class evacuate for the beaches, it's peaceful, and actually pleasant, to drive a car around the city.

I felt it incumbent upon me to discover (first), and then pay homage, to the benefactor, of this special day of remembrance in Brasil. His name was Joaquim Jose da Silva Xavier.

Details surrounding the mysterious death of Roberto Calvi in 1982, have started to surface. Since there's been so much attention on the Vatican lately, I figured this story from the Sydney Herald Sun was worth posting.

Mafia link to banker's death

A CRIME boss, a mobster and two others have been charged over the 1982 hanging of the man dubbed "God's banker".

It's only a matter of time until offshore, on-line gambling, comes onshore. Let's face it, simulated Casino Gambling, in the comfort of your own home, via the connection of high-speed Internet, displayed on a big screen, enhanced with surround sound, is not only the best use of the technology but must be allot more fun than watching icicles grow from the roof, in those long Northern European winters.

Here is a recent report to highlight the growth on offshore, on-line gambling in Europe.

Each week I try to share some information about the other aspects of my life and business. As you may be aware, I live in Sao Paulo, Brasil and manage a web development, Internet marketing business. Since I'm passionate and interested in offshore business development, as a means of providing for my own sovereign lifestyle, I've been compelled to focus much of my attention on developing this web site and www.investoffshore.com but this is not my only project.

In the mid-nineties I registered several other financial Domain names including SecurityTraders.com. Today I'm going to post the executive summary of a project that has really improved in the last several months - www.commoditytrader.com

As today is Tax Day in the USA, and since most of my readers, are from the land of the brave and the home of the free, which is also one of my favorite countries, I decided to post some important information from the voluminous pages of the IRS. There are lots of articles about offshore investing, much of it better reading than one would suspect, mostly related to "offshore scams" but today I'll share with you, Abusive Offshore Tax Avoidance Schemes - Glossary of Offshore Terms;

In case you missed it, in an earlier post, I recommended a very good source of information and dialog, related to offshore banking, offshore investing and asset protection. I'm referring to a Yahoo Group called "OffshoreTrust" which you can access by clicking here, or by searching for the keyword "Offshore" in the finance section of Yahoo Groups.

Recently there was a very information article called "The Nevis International Exempt Trust Explained" and another interesting read, titled "Introduction to the Liechtenstein Stiftung" both articles are short and sweet.

By Raymond Baker and Jennifer Nordin -

WASHINGTON In recent weeks, high-profile advocates have appealed for more foreign aid for the developing world. The Commission for Africa established by Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain recommends, in part, an additional $25 billion in aid per year by 2010. The United Nations Millennium Project's recent report, "Investing in Development," calls for more than doubling foreign aid from rich to poor countries over the next 10 years. These are certainly worthy goals, but what about the billions of dollars that stream illegally the other way, from poor countries to rich?

The two websites OffshoreNet.com and InvestOffshore.com have been, and still remain, a labor of love. Both sites are hand made with the Blog components added to them. Most of the stories written on OffshoreNet are by me, although sometimes either the news articles by themselves are too compelling (as they are), or I get too far behind in my other work, and just re-publish one of the stories I find to fit the criteria of a "Sovereign Lifestyle Blog".

LONDON - The British government said Friday it was setting up a new commission to regulate gambling, including bets made on the Internet.

The Gambling Bill, which overhauls Britain's outdated gaming regulations, was passed by Parliament and became law late Thursday. Officials hope that within months, a new commission, and a body of some 100 investigators, will be established to regulate the industry.

A major focus of the legislation is to regulate online gambling, which has become increasingly popular in recent years. Online casino companies will be allowed to operate from Britain for the first time.

Ruminations in the I-Gaming Industry - a.k.a. online gambling (offshore) - have it; that the move is afoot, to change the status quo, with regards to the legal policy of it's biggest consumer nation, USA, but first the old empire needed to adjust the prevailing laws, to make it legal for the law abiding citizens, of the former empire, where the sun never sets. Now read this...

The British House of Lords approved the Gambling Bill on Wednesday after the DCMS made concessions regarding the number of "super casinos" allowed. The bill appeared to be doomed before the change was made, but now appears likely to receive final approval before Parliament is dissolved on Monday for the general election.

GENEVA (AFP) - The United States and Antigua both claimed to be winners after the World Trade Organization partly reversed an earlier ruling on US restrictions on cross-border gaming on the Internet.

A WTO appeals body accepted that prohibitions in some US states on cross-border gaming were valid and agreed with Washington's argument that some federal laws could "protect public morals or maintain public order."

The appeal had followed an earlier ruling by the WTO's disputes settlement body entirely favoring a complaint brought by the tiny Caribbean island of Antigua and Barbuda.

Monaco's Prince Rainier III, who turned one of the world's smallest states from a faded gambling center into a billionaires' haven in more than half a century on the throne, died today at the age of 81.

Today I came across an interesting site for people moving overseas or starting life anew a.k.a Sovereign Lifestyle.

The site is called Expatfocus and is home to a large user community, provides lots of tips and chats for many far-flung places around the globe. Even a finance section for some offshore investing advice.

Check it out by clicking the nice little button they provide.

The Executive orders, regulations, and laws enacted over the past few years in the name of "anti-terrorism" constitute the greatest single governmental assault on personal and financial privacy in U.S. history.

But there are safe, legal and wise steps that you can take to grow your wealth and better protect your assets and privacy overseas and offshore. Start learning how, by reading a free Offshore Newsletter, subscribe now by clicking here.