Monaco Banks - New Advice For UK Residents
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
If you live in the United Kingdom, and are considering setting up a bank account in Monaco, we have important new advice.
Recent Events
As the world's economy has teetered on the edge of meltdown, and at the very best is going into recession, moving to a tax haven to maximise your money makes a lot of sense.
And opening a bank account in Monaco is a necessary part of that residency process.
Our advice has always been:
Do not open an account with a bank from your own country.
Why?
Top accountants dispensing independent advice will tell you the same - if you do not want your government to know you have a bank account in Monaco you cannot risk opening an account with a bank from your home country.
‘But the Monaco branch of my bank tells me that they are independent of Head Office.'
Of course your bank will want you to think this. But can you trust the banker who has told you that? Do you know them? Is there a special reason why they would be loyal to you, apart from wanting your money in their branch? And is the banker telling you this part of the bank's decision making process? Unlikely.
They want your money to be deposited with them. It's easy to have your current bank transfer funds to their Monaco branch from your UK branch.
But are they leaving a paper trail?
‘My British Bank promises the UK government won't know I have a Monaco bank account'
This is a question of trust. And judgement.
Some of the British banks are now part owned by the British government, and they have seats on the board. Do you believe that the top people at your British bank will be able to refuse the government access to who has an overseas account?
Do you believe that if asked your bank won't get the data from their branch in Monaco as to who holds an account there?
Even if it's not requested officially, we think the British government might now have the inside influence at British banks to gain access to what you are up to outside of the UK.
‘My bank tells me they can't legally get the information from Monaco.'
They're probably right. And what if a British banker ‘accidentally' left a disc of data, or just a copy, at a board meeting - and the board now has government representatives? Plenty of government departments have lost data by leaving laptops on trains and in taxis...
If you believe that the British government won't gain access to British people's Monaco bank accounts, in our opinion, that's naive.
‘So What Is The Answer?'
Our advice has always been, and remains, choose a bank in Monaco that isn't from your home country. Unless you trust your government and the banks not to swap information. It's now even more important for British people not to open a bank account with a British branch of their home bank.
Our second bit of advice is to avoid a bank which originates from the EU. EU governments will swap information.
Our advice is to opt for a Swiss bank in Monaco. Visit http://www.yourmonaco.com/banks - and upon request there we will send you a report about opening a Monaco bank account, including who to contact at the Swiss banks in Monaco.
