Has anyone had experience in starting savings accounts in
bahamas or other caribbean say more than $10,000 us? If so
which banks can you trust and which can you not? Anyone ever
been ripped off by a foreign bank? What happened?
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I've never actually opened accounts in the Caribbean, but
check www.escapeartist.com. They have a number of resources
for people looking to "hide" their money abroad.
Many of the world's largest banks are in the Caribbean and
are totally safe. They are there mainly to take advantage
of the lenient bank secrecy laws, though many of them
served as money laundering centers in the 80s. Barclays
Bank has a large branch in Nassau and in many other islands
and many Canadian banks (like CIBC)are also throughout the
Caribbean. It is totally safe.
...seem to dominate in the CAribbean. I met some Canadians in Jamaica who had accounts with both Scotiabank and CIBC. Would you believe it if I told you their Canadian ATM (cash machine) cards were refused in the Scotiabank and CIBC branches in Jamaica!
Whenever you go, be careful! I know several people here in
Miami and I heard about others up in northern U.S. and
in England, who have been ripped off by a Canadian based
Jamaican by the name RUDY (I am not going to say his last
name). He has investment office and looks very professional.
He works with people who want to open accounts in banks in
Jamaica and Caimans. Flies with you there, helps to open an
account and a year later, when people start trusting and
puting in more money, on day the money is gone.. He had an
office in Toronto (I think also near Otawa and Kingston).
Very slick, highly educated crook, impressive credentials.
If you need to know how to do banking in the Carribbean, a
good place to start is by reading a book by Edmund J. Pankau
titled "Hide Your Assets & Disappear", Published by
Harper/Collins. It is available on amazon.com for $19.95
which includes shipping. I also imagine it is available in
book stores. It is an excellent primer on doing off shore
banking and certainly a must read. It will also link you up
to other reliable sources of information via internet URLs.
Good Luck.
You are wise to be cautious. The fact is, there are over
600 banks in the Cayman Islands with most being little
bigger than a room with a computer and filing cabinet.
Stick with the big ones: Barclays, CIBC, Scotiabank, Royal
Bank of Canada, Bank of Butterfield... there are no laws in
the Cayman Islands about bringing Cash in. NO LIMITS.
However, you must get a letter of reference to open an
account at any bank here. Also, the US and Canada have
strict laws in regard to exporting monetary instruments of
over USD / CAD $10,000.00 and I always see FedEx packages
here that were opened by US customs on their way out of the
continent. Email me if you want more info, Tax sheltering
is quickly becoming a hobby of mine.