Another Ponzi scheme uncovered in the Caribbean
THE US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced fraud charges and an emergency asset freeze against a financier based in the US Virgin Islands (USVI) who perpetrated a US$105 million Ponzi scheme against investors for the past six years at least. The SEC alleges that Daniel Spitzer, a resident of St Thomas USVI, used several entities and sales agents to misrepresent to investors that their money would be put in investment funds that, in turn, would be invested primarily in foreign currency. Investors were falsely told that Spitzer's funds had never lost money and historically produced profitable annual returns that one year reached over 180 per cent.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/business/Another-Ponzi-scheme-uncovered-in-the-Caribbean_7761964 Incorporate in Delaware
Over 850,000 companies, both offshore and US companies have chosen to incorporate in Delaware. Over 60% of the Fortune 500 firms and more than 50% of the companies traded on the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ are chartered as Delaware corporations. There are five distinct reasons why corporations are choosing Delaware, the first being Anonymity. Delaware Limited Liability Companies and Delaware Corporations can be formed anonymously.
http://stockmarketsreview.com/pressrelease/2010/07/01/delaware-llc/NOTE: Contact us at username success to form your Delaware or other US corporation or LLC today. New Mexico is excellent for LLC's, and we can help there and elsewhere. Combine with an offshore structure if you like!
Offshore still perceived negatively by some in US business
Bermuda is still perceived as a place to hide things by some in the American business community. That is according to an anecdote relayed to delegates at the Bermuda Captive Conference yesterday by panellist Keith Ryan, vice-president, director of financial shared services, for Lincoln Financial Group.
http://www.royalgazette.com/rg/Article/article.jsp?articleId=7da70a730030021§ionId=65Criminal Probe of HSBC Offshore Accounts
The Justice Department has begun a criminal investigation into U.S. taxpayers who may have evaded taxes through HSBC Holdings PLC (HBC) accounts in India and Singapore, according to tax attorneys close to the matter. The agency is looking into whether taxpayers may have violated federal criminal laws by failing to report they had a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a financial account located in a foreign country, according to a DOJ letter obtained by Dow Jones Newswires.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100707-707698.html Vanuatu upset by tax haven label
Australia's crackdown on offshore tax evasion is netting hundreds of millions of dollars and locking up a number of criminals, but some small Pacific nations feel they are being unfairly labelled as tax havens. In the latest case, an Australian businessman convicted of laundering money overseas to avoid tax used Vanuatu-based advisers. After a trip around the Pacific, James O'Rourke used false invoices for consulting fees and insurance, to inflate his tax deductions.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/07/2947636.htm?section=worldSafe haven from the tax storm
It's easy to see why so many companies from a variety of different sectors choose to base themselves in Switzerland, which is well known for its home-grown financial and pharmaceutical industries. The alpine country's low taxes, discreet and stable government, good transport infrastructure and high-quality of life has attracted firms from around the globe during the past decade , including house-hold names like Yahoo Inc. and Kraft Foods. But there are some clouds on the horizon for firms wishing to join them.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/safe-haven-from-the-tax-storm-2010-07-06Property seizures are getting out of hand
For decades, law enforcement agencies have used property seizures to break up large criminal organizations, but with the rise of the so-called drug war, seizure and forfeiture of personal property owned by innocent citizens have skyrocketed. When police officers, often working with faulty evidence, merely suspect that your boat, vehicle or cash has been involved in a crime, the property can be seized under civil forfeiture laws.
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/opinion/article_7d8395ca-8768-11df-92d1-001cc4c002e0.htmlSarkozy government under fire in tax evasion row
France's labour minister faced Wednesday a wave of attacks in a tax evasion scandal involving the heiress of the L'Oreal cosmetics empire, which has sparked allegations of government corruption. "The poison of the Woerth affair," read the front-page headline in Le Parisien newspaper above an article that said President Nicolas Sarkozy's right-wing government was in "torment" over minister Eric Woerth. "Can he hang on?" wondered the left-wing Liberation, which said that Woerth's double role as minister and treasurer of Sarkozy's ruling UMP party was untenable.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hP8_Zg2clDuedAOg0KfmbXHamUqQ
