Bank Accounts in Belize

Belize – This is a small country next to Guatemala that is also on the Caribbean. Belize has several banks and is known as an offshore tax and privacy haven. Belize has to date not signed any Tax Treaties and thus is a good jurisdiction. The official language of the country is English. The banks provide accounts in several currencies. The customer service and support is excellent. You can get Visa cards as well but they will not be anonymous.

Bank Secrecy – Belize practices bank secrecy. The banks we refer clients to will not enforce civil judgments or comply with subpoenas from other countries. Any requests to share information regarding a criminal case would need to go through the Belize Government. Generally the Government would want to see a criminal case on file in the national courts requesting the information. Belize does not do fishing expeditions for other countries wishing to see who has a bank account there from their country.

Belize Corporations – We can use a Belize Corporation but they have a slight deficiency. They require the shares of stock to be held by the registered agent in Belize. The registered agent also needs to have a passport and driver license copy of someone who is the owner. You cannot use a corporation, foundation or trust to be the owner listed with the registered agent in Belize. If there was a financial enemy who knew the name of this corporation they could hire a law firm in Belize to file papers in court to force the registered agent who may not be a lawyer to reveal the name of the beneficiary owner of the Belize corporation. The registered agent can spend a lot of their time and money defending you and protecting you for free which would be unlikely. They would probably just let the attorney have the information and save themselves the time and trouble. Of course they might ask you for $25,000 to defend the matter with a law firm as well. When using the Panama Corporation or Panama Foundation we avoid any such risk or exposure since the shares are kept by you not the registered agent which is the law firm in Panama anyway. The bank in Belize knows who you are but that is covered by bank secrecy. Any frivolous efforts to get your records would be thwarted by the banks staff attorneys and they would collect legal fees and damages from the one trying such a move. It would take a government on a serious criminal matter to get your records from the bank.

Panama Corporation or Panama Foundation – The bank account is opened using a Panama Corporation or Panama Foundation or both to practice bullet proof asset protection. When you send and receive wires only the name of the corporation or foundation is visible on the wire, not your name. The Panama Corporation or Foundation owner’s names are not in any registry or database and even the Panama Government does not know who owns them. Three nominee directors are used but they have no signatory rights on the corporation or foundation bank account. Any changes or modifications to the signatories at the bank would need to be done in writing by you as the existing signatory on the bank account and would be verified by the bank. This is how the bank protects themselves from bank fraud. So in summation the nominees from the Panama Corporation or Panama Foundation would have no power to change or modify the signatories on the bank account and they are never signatories on the bank account to start with. The nominees are basically employees of the corporation holding the title of President, Vice President, and Secretary – Treasurer.

In the case of the foundation, the nominees make up the foundation council. We believe the Panama Corporations and Foundations are better than Belize Corporations and Trusts to make a more confusing multi-jurisdictional asset protection structure. A Foundation is a judicial person with its own assets and liabilities. A trust is just an agreement to manage assets. Thus foundations are stronger in our opinion.

A Panama Foundation by law has no owner. The shares to a Panama Corporation can be made out in blank and do not need to be kept with the registered agent. This is not the case with a Belize Corporation. Changes in ownership for a Panama Corporation do not need to be reported to anyone and this is not the case with a Belize Corporation.

We prefer to use Panama Corporations and Panama Foundations in Belize.

As an alternative to the Panama Corporation being owned by a Panama Foundation we can use a International Asset Protection trust to own the share of the Panama Corporation. The trusts are Anguilla based. This adds a third jurisdiction into the mix for added protection.

The Bank We Use in Belize – The bank is a stable bank with a Class "A" license. This bank was started in 1998 and is regulated by the Central Bank of Belize. The bank accounts are not subject to any taxation in Belize. Belize has no currency controls or exchange restrictions. You do not have to convert to Belize dollars. Everyone at the bank speaks English, which is the official language of Belize. The online banking platform is also in English and does let you send outgoing wires online.

Credit Cards – The bank will issue you a Visa card. The deposit is 150% of the credit line. If you want a $10,000 credit line on the visa card the deposit is $15,000. There is online access for the Visa card.

Currencies – You can bank in USD, Canadian Dollars, UK Pound Sterling and Euro. This enables one to protect themselves from currency devaluations by spreading their money into four different currencies.

Documents Required – Aside from the Corporate or Foundation paperwork, which we take care for you, will need the following:

• Bank Reference letter for an account of 2 years. It is sometimes possible to substitute reference letters from an attorney or an accountant.
• A notarized only copy of a driving license with a photo and a passport (picture page only).
• Utility Bill from your residence
• Minimum Deposit - $1000

Time Frame for Account Opening – From the time we have your documents and payment the account should be open in about 10 - 15 working days including the time needed to form the corporation or foundation. If we use a shelf corporation or 24 hour expedite service we can reduce this time. Remember we have to courier you bank forms to sign and you have to execute signature cards and return all by courier.

When you read people claiming to have fast account opening like 1-3 days you should ask yourself how can they do this because in our experience cross border courier deliveries are 2 days each way due to clearing customs. You cannot get an account opened without signed bank forms and signature cards at the bank first. This is the time delay. Coming to Panama and executing the forms at our offices can speed things up nicely. If in a hurry call and we can strategize.

Personal Accounts – We do not do personal accounts because they seriously violate your privacy. All the wires coming in and out would then have your personal name as the name of the account and then it is an open book with no more privacy.

Cost - $1995 for a Panama corporation with a Belize corporate bank account. Same price of $1995 for a Panama foundation with a bank account in Belize.

Ordering – To order a Belize Corporate Bank Account click here.

Questions – Inquire.