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  1. #1
    Member N.M._Nikki's Avatar
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    Default Cayman Island bank accounts

    Has anyone ever had a bank account in the Cayman Islands? How do deposits and withdrawls work from the U.S. now and before 9/11?

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    Sitri
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts


  3. #3
    Member N.M._Nikki's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    Thanks for the link.I will take a look through it. Does anyone here have any personal experience with these accounts to share.Tips, tricks or things to avoid would be very helpful to me.

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    Veteran Member StuartL's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    I don't want to be negative ... but it might be best to avoid the account!

    The US and other major nations (all the EU for example) are doing everything within their power to make 'offshore' a bad place to keep money. I actually work in the offshore market, so I see a lot of the news items etc that pass by.

    To be blunt, it is moving towards a witch hunt.

    You really need to think carefully as to whether you need the account and how it will look. These days, such accounts and their contents are meant to be declared which reduces their effectiveness and the big governments are doing deals left and right to obtain access or information on the accounts and their owners.

    You will probably find that you can only open the account in person. Anti money laundering rules now make most bank accounts hard to open without being there. Since it's the Cayman Islands, that might be a good thing - you can grab a nice vacation too. But banks are starting to target their expat clients and make them turn up with documents etc on a regular basis to prove they are real. This is happening across Europe currently.

    If you are US resident, think really carefully about this. The moment you withdraw funds on US soil, you are likely to be breaking a number of tax and reporting laws which could land you in all sorts of trouble.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    To be blunt, it is moving towards a witch hunt.
    This is a very appropriate description of what's going on lately. Prior to 2001, it was possible for US citizens to open accounts in foreign country banks without having to physically travel there in person. It was possible to wire transfer money internationally without drawing undue attention from the FBI and IRS. Even more 'helpful', if some US agency did develop an interest in the contents of a US citizen's offshore account, foreign country banking secrecy laws created a real obstacle to that US agency's ability to easily obtain that information.

    However, since the passage of the Patriot Act, and since the signing of the 'terrorist anti-money laundering treaty' by almost all countries, it is now necessary to show up in person at the offshore bank in order to prove your identity before you can open an account (with certain expensive exceptions). The Patriot Act requires that all accounts held by US citizens anywhere in the world with a balance of $10,000 or more be reported to the US state dep't (and thus the IRS) ... which can automatically be grounds for further investigation. Any international money transfers are now also monitored (see recent SWIFT spy program news stories) and undoubtedly reported to the IRS. I used to have a Swiss bank account, but after the new laws were passed I was forced to close it due to my inability to travel to Switzerland frequently enough for the account to be useful, due in part to the inability to now personally carry large amounts of cash in or out of the USA without drawing US gov't attention.

    In a country like the Cayman Islands, which did not sign the money laundering treaty and therefore need not disclose info to US agency requests, Homeland Security and the IRS have now set up targeted enforcement - because the Caymans and a handful of other countries who did not sign the treaty have (or so we are told) become the concentrated centers of terrorist money shuffling. All US holders of Cayman Island backed credit cards are now virtually guaranteed to be audited. US citizens booking commercial air travel to the Cayman islands will draw extra US gov't scrutiny.

    Today, the only people who are still able to really take advantage of offshore accounts are those with A) the wherewithal to set up offshore corporations to facilitate offshore money transfers, B) the wherewithal to travel offshore without the use of commercial air or water i.e. via a private plane or private yacht, and C) those that also own offshore property i.e. some sort of officially approved residency in a foreign country (whether they actually live there or not)

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    God/dess Deogol's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    The sad thing about all this is that terrorists tend to use Hawala - a sort of collection of people who agree to use money on hand and a phone call to make "transfers" between other people in the system with money on hand.

    So while banks do play a role - for the most part it is a small one.

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    Member N.M._Nikki's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    thanks for all the information. It was quite helpful to me.

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    Veteran Member StuartL's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    Quite right - it appears that hawala is the system of choice for bad guys. Apparently, or at least as I read in the papers, drug smugglers now bulk smuggle cash out via the same routes that the drugs get in. If that is the case, all the rules in the world won't stop the game - but that is another story...

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    Member N.M._Nikki's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    Are there any other offshore banks where I can get a better return on my savings than I can get here in the US?

    I wouldn't mind being looked at a bit more harshly by the government or anything like that since I have no plans to break any laws or otherwise do anything wrong. I just want to get as much interest on my money as possible. I have always heard stuff about the Cayman Islands but honestly I don't care where the bank is as long as it is safe and will make me some $

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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    what everyone is saying is the reasons you heard good things about the Cayman Islands are for reasons that are no longer valid, so there's really no reason to bank there....especially if safety is your first goal. You can make money in any interest bearing account. The rates are not better there.

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    www.emmigrantdirect.com

    Although that 5.15% isn't guaranteed, its one of the best savings available in the U.S. right now, with no minumum.

    Putting money into offshore banks isn't really that useful for returns, considering the pain in the ass associated with it.

    If "returns" is what you are really interested in, and not hiding assets, periodically check bankrate.com for high-yielding CD's and money market accounts. Right now, the Emmigrant one is my personal favorite, for pure savings.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
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    Member N.M._Nikki's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine

    Although that 5.15% isn't guaranteed, its one of the best savings available in the U.S. right now, with no minumum.
    Now we're talking! Thanks.

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    God/dess Deogol's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    You might look at municipal bonds also. The interest may not be so great (3% to 4%) - but there is no tax on them either. Help build a school!

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    actually you can get some really remarkable returns on foreign currency based CD's through a few American financial institutions ... for example

    note that you can get a 10.92 percent return on an Icelandic Krona CD. However, the risk is that a year from now when the CD matures that the US dollar exchange rate against the Icelandic Krona may have gone up by 10% or more, leaving you with a 'real' rate of return of only 1%. On the other hand, if the Icelandic Krona strengthens 10% against the US dollar a year from now, your 'real' rate of return would be 22% !!!

    The only kicker is that the minimum buy-in to allow you to 'play in the international league' is $10,000. The rich get richer !

    Also with heating season / hurricane season just around the corner, you might consider that most oil and gas royalty stock shares are paying 7+ percent dividends, in US dollars. Of course there is some risk that the value of your shares could decline, but the share value could increase too. One that caught my attention is BPT , which was 'beaten up' by the recent announcement of the BP Prudo Bay Oil Pipeline Shutdown. With the share price temporarily pressured down, the dividend rate is now 13.4% !!!!

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    http://biz.yahoo.com/p/tops/hm.html

    I like Oppenheimer, so I sometimes recommend their Rochester Muni for the third tier of a cash reserve. Remember, take the rate of return and divide it by 1-your tax bracket % to see the actual returns if you were to pay OI tax on the gains.

    BUT, looking at the ST, the Emmigrant is still better for a pure savings account, and more liquid, since you don't have to wait for settlement before you can access the funds.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    Offshore in the British Virgin Islands used to be cool because you could draw money through a credit card on the BVI account. Post 9/11 try this: get a thick plastic bag and a shovel. Draw a treasure map on parchment.

    Yo-yo, yo-ho a pirate's life for me.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    Post 9/11 try this: get a thick plastic bag and a shovel. Draw a treasure map on parchment.
    ^^^ I hear you ! That's the reason they sell gold and silver bars / coins LOL !


    Actually, the real 'trick' today appears to be buying a small piece of property in Malta or Belize or some other foreign country which will allow you to become a 'legal resident' without actually having to reside there more than one day. Once you are able to claim official legal residency outside of the USA, and once you open a local (foreign) bank account based on your local (foreign) address, you can start transferring funds out of your American accounts like crazy. But again, in order to play in this league, you have to be able to afford buying that small piece of foreign property in the first place !
    ~
    Last edited by Melonie; 08-26-2006 at 04:40 AM.

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    https://www.oneunited.com/default.asp

    They are offering 5.25% on savings. I have no knowledge about this company though.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
    "And do the cats give a shit? No, they do not. Why? Because they're cats."-from The Onion

    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

  20. #19
    Member N.M._Nikki's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    Quote Originally Posted by Melonie
    ^^^ I hear you ! That's the reason they sell gold and silver bars / coins LOL !
    ~
    I never thought of buying gold bars. I have no clue what the laws are as far as investing in actual gold and silver bars or coins. I guess that would be an investment that doesn't have to be reported to the IRS ??? Is that part of why people buy them? Where and how are they purchased? What's the going rate these days?

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: Cayman Island bank accounts

    ^^^

    PS legally speaking any long term capital gains are supposed to be reported if and when you sell them at a profit

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