Safe offshore account

[flareflyer]

Gents,
I come from a european country, after more than a decade in ek i was looking at moving back. I read all your suggestions about how to transfer the provident fund money. Now my question is, i would like to transfer only 30% of it back home while the remaining i would like to deposit and invest it in an offshore account. What bank and in which country would be a good and safe option?
Flare

[fantom]

I can look after it for you.

[Odins Raven]

I would transfer most of your money from the UAE straight into an offshore HSBC US DOLLAR account in Jersey, that way it's safe and you can choose to transfer it to your home currency account whenever the rate is good.

I never really felt comfortable with my money building up in the UAE account, even with a reputable brand like HSBC. After all it's just a franchise using the HSBC Name and logo, and seeing so many stories of people being stung with little help to fight their case (your word versus theirs etc) I thought it best to remove the worry and put it somewhere I felt more trustworthy (run by the Manx or the Channel Islands etc). Whether that was just me being paranoid I'm not sure, but it's one less stress when things start to get a little tasty down Desert Street...

[BANANASBANANAS]

I use Santander in Isle of Man and they have been great to deal with.

At risk of sounding paranoid, google the financial term 'bail in' and you will see that no European with cash in an EU country can be totally satisfied that their money is safe.

[lospilotos]

Guess it's more of an "on shore" but have you looked at Swissquote?

[nolimitholdem]

"Offshore" technically means any bank not in your home country/country of residence. So Switzerland definitely qualifies as "offshore" unless you're well, Swiss.

And Swissquote is awesome. Clunky web interface, but improving. Where it shines is the lack of fees, which I found onerous at HSBC in Jersey and Lloyds TSB on Isle of Man. Either high monthly fees or very high minimum balance requirements to waive them, at the latter two. None at Swissquote and they have an office at DIFC. Nope, I don't work for them. Best to contact them personally and ask about them, as I don't use a fraction of their very comprehensive trading platforms or robo-advisors.

But they'll all be sharing your information with your home country soon enough anyway with the Automatic Exchange of Information changes looming. That's definitely something for professional advice, not free internet advice!

[FREQUENTFLYER1234]

If you want to invest then Swissquote can be expensive as I believe they have custody fees as do Saxo, they will be slightly easier to setup as they both have offices here I understand.

Internaxx or Interactive Brokers could be lower cost investment platforms depending on the investment strategy you are using.

With straightforward banking then there is are multiple options. Barclays, Santander, Skipton, Nedbank, HSBC and a million others all varying with different entry minimums and fee structures.

[Phil A Buster]

If your motivation is a concern that someone may in future try to get their hands on your money, you could consider setting up a trust in the Cook Islands. It's a favourite of the wealthy.

Services | Cook Islands Financial Services Development Authority (http://www.cookislandsfinance.com/services.php)

[flareflyer]

I have swissquote but i would like an account more "confidential".
The main reason is not because i want to hide my money but only because i want to protect what i hardly saved here.
Back home is not that clear if once you bring money back it will be taxed or not even though you made that money while you were abroad.
Is the Isle of Man safer?

[Old King Coal]

I've been using Standard Bank (https://international.standardbank.com/) (in the Isle of Man) and they've been very easy to deal with and most helpful when I've needed some facilitation... mind you, it wasn't the easiest account to set up as they wanted a lot of proof that I really was who I said I was and that I was an expat... but, thus far, no worries.

[BANANASBANANAS]

Exactly the same with Santander in IOM OKC. Admin nightmare to set up with proof of identity, proof of residence and various anti money laundering hoops to jump through. But, once set up, it is very easy to do business either on line or they will call me anywhere in the world at a pre arranged time. Works well.

[g109]

Guys, be careful with those offshore accounts, especially Isle of Man or jersey, as they are not really safe. In Europe, if a bank defaults Your deposits are protected up to 85000 gbp or 100000 EUR, that is not the case if you're offshore, no protection if the deposit taker defaults.
Furthermore the Channel Islands are NOT part of the EU.

[my salami]

Guys, be careful with those offshore accounts, especially Isle of Man or jersey, as they are not really safe. In Europe, if a bank defaults Your deposits are protected up to 85000 gbp or 100000 EUR, that is not the case if you're offshore, no protection if the deposit taker defaults.
Furthermore the Channel Islands are NOT part of the EU.

Last time I checked the HSBC Offshore account policy it did say it is protected up to 100.000€

MS

[Mr Good Cat]

Last time I checked the HSBC Offshore account policy it did say it is protected up to 100.000€

MS

Yup, so the key is to transfer the money at a good rate before you reach 100k euros. If you can get there.

[Mr Good Cat]

I have swissquote but i would like an account more "confidential".
The main reason is not because i want to hide my money but only because i want to protect what i hardly saved here.
Back home is not that clear if once you bring money back it will be taxed or not even though you made that money while you were abroad.
Is the Isle of Man safer?

What country is home? If it's the UK or Eire you shouldn't be taxed if you have evidence (i.e. you were proved non-resident) at the time you accumulated the money. This is easy enough to show through bank statements of deposits to your offshore account. If you transferring from an HSBC offshore to UK home account you won't even be scrutinized as the government already make HSBC declare large transfers and will know what you're doing as long as you're legitimate and non-resident. They were in trouble in the past for hiding tax avoiders so they're closely watched by the UK gov.

The US is a different matter entirely.

[Big Enos Burdette]

Exactly the same with Santander in IOM OKC. Admin nightmare to set up with proof of identity, proof of residence and various anti money laundering hoops to jump through. But, once set up, it is very easy to do business either on line or they will call me anywhere in the world at a pre arranged time. Works well.

Abandoned my attempts to set up with Lloyds in IOM. Asking for documents that I just wasn't able to produce as I'm living in rental accommodation. Wasted several thousand dirhams getting documents notarised by a UK lawyer that they still wouldn't accept.
In the end just transferred it to my normal bank account at home in Europe. Got a letter from the taxman asking for providence of the money, but one email and it was all sorted out.

[Jack D]

Credit suisse have an office in DIFC

[flareflyer]

Abandoned my attempts to set up with Lloyds in IOM. Asking for documents that I just wasn't able to produce as I'm living in rental accommodation. Wasted several thousand dirhams getting documents notarised by a UK lawyer that they still wouldn't accept.
In the end just transferred it to my normal bank account at home in Europe. Got a letter from the taxman asking for providence of the money, but one email and it was all sorted out.

Big Enos my i know from which country are you?
I am from Italy and I am sure tgat one email wont be enough......

[zero/zero]

Most banks these days insist that you're a UK resident before setting up a new account. Obviously if you set it up before you leave then no problem, but if you're hoping to hop around between accounts to get the best interest rate, then this is a problem

[dirk85]

Gents,
I come from a european country, after more than a decade in ek i was looking at moving back. I read all your suggestions about how to transfer the provident fund money. Now my question is, i would like to transfer only 30% of it back home while the remaining i would like to deposit and invest it in an offshore account. What bank and in which country would be a good and safe option?
Flare

If you moved your residence to the UAE when you were working there you have nothing to be afraid taking back the money.
UAE is one of the very country that with Italy has an agreement for which you dont have to pay taxes in italy over your income in the UAE. You would risks with any country, but not with UAE.