Privacy and security are particularly important in banking. Many countries are very interested in protecting privacy and have laws to do so. For example, many countries will put a banker in jail if he gives out information about a client or an account. The United States is not so interested in privacy, and does not have such laws. In the US, random people can easily get a copy of your credit history. People really interested in privacy must use banks in other countries. Encryption and email have the potential to help with banking privacy. Soon it will be possible to have private communication with a bank from anywhere in the world for the low cost of an email message. Books for those interested in bank privacy: Tax Havens Hoyt L. Barber McGraw-Hill, 1993 ISBN 0-07-003659-4 About $22 from local bookstore - well worth it. Tax havens A. Ginsberg Butterworths, Durban, 1990 Shows how to use several corporations when operating a business so that "profits" are in the corporations in tax havens. Also gives general info on the tax havens. Very good book. Personal Privacy Through Foreign Investing Trent Sands Loompanics Unlimited, 1993 ISBN 1-55950-098-0 Only a 70 page pamphlet, little info, has some mistakes, not very good. Loompanics sells for $10 (206) 385-2230 Loompanics is on the net now as loompanx@pt.olympus.net but they do not yet take email orders. You can get an online catalog as: gopher://gopher.well.sf.ca.us/00/Business/catalog.asc David Chaum's company "DigiCash" in Netherlands: http://digicash.support.nl Bank of America: http://www.commerce.net/directories/participants/bofa/bofa.home.html >grep -i bank /alex/ch/switch/nic/registry/CH.domains BIRAG.CH Banken- und Industrie-Rechenzentrum AG, Guemligen DSK.CH Datenbank Schweizerischer Kulturgueter, Bern SBC.CH Schweizerischer Bankverein, Basel UBS.ARCOM.CH Union Bank Switzerland, Zuerich ZKB.CH Zuercher Kantonalbank, Zuerich GREENNET.CH Swiss Volksbank, Bern SBCCH.CH Swiss Bank Corporation, Basel So, there are Swiss banks on the Internet. We can update /alex/edu/washington/u/stein2/pub/user-supported/phantom/cpunk/swiss.banks with a few Internet domains. See below. The Netherland's 2nd largest bank, the Rabobank, is on the net as "rabo.nl". The following might also be interesting: koan.worldbank.org swissbank.swissbank.com If I run "whois" on Panama, Antigua, Grenada or the Cook Islands (a few tax havens) I get something interesting. The output of these is at the bottom of this file. People interested in encryption and Cypherpunk things in general should also check out: http://www.ai/security/README.html I will keep a current copy of this file available as: http://www.offshore.com.ai/security/banks If people send me other interesting and related info, I will add it to this file. Note that U.S. courts have ruled that you can not have a copyright on a phone book, so it should be ok to type in bank phone numbers from books (this is only a small part of the books anyway, and will probably help sales as long as we say which book). Anyone is welcome to copy this file, post this, etc. -- Vince vac@cs.cmu.edu CAYMAN ISLAND BANKS (from page 118 of "Tax Havens" by Hoyt L. Barber): Midland Bank Trust Corporation (Cayman) Limited P.O. Box 1109 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-7755 Fax: (809) 949-7634 Finsbury Bank and Trust Company Transnational House West Bay Road P.O. Box 1592 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 947-4011 Offers debit Gold Mastercard - works in cash machines etc. worldwide. Bank of Nova Scotia P.O. Box 689 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-7666 First Cayman Bank Ltd. P.O. Box 1113 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-5266 Fax: (809) 949-5398 Min of $50 to open an account. Barclays Bank PLC P.O. Box 68 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-7300 CIBC Bank and Trust Company (Cayman) Ltd. P.O. Box 695 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-2366 Cayman National Bank and Trust Co. P.O. Box 1097 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-4655 Royal Bank of Canada P.O. Box 245 Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-4600 Cititrust (Cayman) Ltd. P.O. Box 309 George Town, Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-5405 Canadian Imperial Bank, Ltd. P.O. Box 695 George Town, Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-2366 Chase Manhattan Trust Ltd. P.O. Box 190 George Town, Grand Cayman, BWI Tel: (809) 949-2081 ****************************************************************************** Update of /alex/edu/washington/u/stein2/pub/user-supported/phantom/cpunk/swiss.banks ****************************************************************************** Zuercher Kantonalbank Net: zkb.ch Tel: 41 1 275 71 11 Addr: Neue Hard 9 8005 Zuerich, Switzerland Union Bank of Switzerland Net: ubs.arcom.ch Adr: Bahnhofstrasse 45 8021 Zurich, Switzerland Tel: 29-4411 Swiss Bank Corporation Net: sbcch.ch Tel: 23-2323 Addr: Aeschenborstadt 1 4002 Basel, Switzerland Swiss Credit Bank Paradeplatez 8 8021 Zurich, Switzerland Telephone: 29-2811 Foreign Commerce BAnk Dept 284 Bellariastrasse 82 8022 Zurich, Switzerland Telephone: (01) 45.66.88 Foreign Commerce BAnk Dept 42 3 Rue de Marche CH-1211 Geneva 3 Rive, Switzerland Telephone: (01) 21.42.33 Bank Indiana Suisse Attn: F.C. Mishari 50 Ave. de La Gare 1001 Lausanne, Switzerland Telephone: 20.47.41 Bank Leu Postfach 8022 Zurich, Switzerland Cambio & Valorenbank Postfach 535 8021 Zurich, Switzerland Ueberseebank, A. G. Limmatquai 2 8024 Zurich, Switzerland ****************************************************************************** This next section started from: /alex/edu/washington/u/stein2/pub/user-supported/phantom/cpunk/tax.havens >Date: Wed Nov 24 21:21:06 1993 >From: Jim Hart >Subject: Tax Havens on the Net > > >--------------------- >Tax Havens on the Net >--------------------- >compiled by James R. Hart > >sources: >Internet Connectivity List -- Larry Landweber, U.Wisc. > ftp.cs.wisc.edu ../connectivity_table Version 9, > August 1993 >Hoyt L. Barber, _Tax Havens_, McGraw-Hill 1993 But Vince has been updated it some 5/94. ****************************************************************************** Codes used to indicate sites in each country with access to the Global Multiprotocol Open Internet: BITNET b: minimal, one to five domestic BITNET sites B: widespread, more than five domestic BITNET sites IP INTERNET I: = operational, accesible from entire IP Internet i: = operational, not accesible via the NSFNET backbone UUCP u: minimal, one to five domestic UUCP sites U: widespread, more than five domestic UUCP sites FIDONET f: minimal, one to five domestic FIDONET sites F: widespread, more than five domestic FIDONET sites OSI o: minimal, one to five domestic X.400 sites O: widespread, more than five domestic X.400 sites ------------------------ and without further ado: ------------------------ Aruba net access: ---f- languages: Papiamento, English, Dutch, Spanish currency controls: none? bank secrecy: moderate (numbered accounts not permitted) preferred legal entities: Aruba Exempt Company, NV (Dutch legal tradition, bearer shares allowed) taxes: no income tax on AEC or shareholders, no witholding of any kind tax treaties: none? Austria net access: BIOUFO language: German currency controls: ?? bank secrecy: good; numbered accounts available preferred legal entities: limited liability company, stock orporation taxes: corporate tax. no bank interest tax. 20% divident ax. tax treaties: many, OECD model, primarily personal and orporate income contact: Price Waterhouse, Austria Barbados net access: --u-- language: English currency controls: some (none for offshore banks & nsurance) preferred legal entities: company, public company, offshore bank, exempt insurance company, foreign sales corporation , international business company taxes: income tax offshore banks and international business companies 2.5%, exempt insurance companies and foreign sales corporations none tax treaties: double-tax treaties with 5 major countries (incl. U.K. & U.S.) Bermuda net access: --Uf-- language: English currency controls: none for nonresidents bank secrecy: moderate preferred legal entities: local (conduct business in Bermuda, must be 60% Bermuda owned), exempt (only conducts business outside Bermuda) -- min. capitalization US$12,000 -- extensive background check on the principles taxes: no income, profit, sales, value added, witholding, or capital gains taxes tax treaties: no double-tax treaties. U.S. can be provided with tax information concerning civil & criminal tax cases Belize net access: --u-- BZ language: English Cayman Islands net access: ----- KY can have bearer shares Cook Islands net access: --u-- CK taxes: none can have bearer shares Costa Rica net access: bIuf- language: Spanish currency controls: only on local currency, applies only to citizens or legal entities bank secrecy: good legal entities: individual enterprise/limited liability collective company limited partnership limited-liability company stock corporation (aka chartered company): most common taxes: 15% on dividents for some nonresident shareholders, moderate corporate income, payroll, imort, real estate taxes. Exporters exempt from most taxes. tax treaties: no double-tax treaties. Caribbean Basin Initiative exchange-of-information agreeement signed but not yet ratified (as of 1/93). Grenada net access: --u-- GD Hong Kong net access: BI-F- languages: Cantonese, English currency controls: none bank secrecy: moderate? preferred legal entity: limited-liability corporation (English common law Companies Ordinance) taxes: 16.5% domestic source corporate income, 15% domestic employment wages, 15% on domestic property rental income tax treaties: no double-tax agreements n.b.: treaty to return Hong Kong to Communist China in 1997 Ireland net access: BIUFO language: English currency controls: none? bank secrecy: moderate? preferred legal entity: noresident company (private corporation w/limited liability, must conduct operations outside Ireland) taxes: only on Irish operations tax treaties: many double-tax treaties n.b.: those with Irish grandparents can obtain second citizenship Liechtenstein net access: -I-f- languages: German, Alemanni currency controls: none bank secrecy: excellent preferred legal entities: allows any type found anywhere in the world (!) establishment (limited liability, unlimited duration) company limited by shares foundations and trusts taxes: none for income outside Leichtenstein. Net worth tax of 0.01% on capital and reserves (min. 1,000 Swiss francs), local resident taxes tax treaties: not party directly or indirectly to any exchange-of-information agreements double-tax treaty exists only with Austria n.b.: bankers won't assist law enforcement officials with drug, fraud, theft, or tax investigations. They might assist in money laundering and insider trading investigations, informing the customer first. Luxembourg net access: bIUFO languages: Letzeburgesh, French, German, English bank secrecy: moderate preferred legal entity: holding company taxes: holding companies pays only 10% registration fee on issued shares and 0.20% annual capital tax on issued capital bonds. tax treaties: many double-tax treaties n.b.: EC member Malta net access: --u-- languages: Maltese, English currency controls: none bank secrecy: good preferred legal entities: offshore notrading, trading, banking (overseas, subsidiary, local), insurance, trusts taxes: nontrading exempt, trading very low tax treties: many double-tax treaties n.b.: EC member Netherlands Net: The second largest duch bank, the Rabobank is on the net as rabo.nl net access: BIUFO language: Dutch currency controls: ?? bank secrecy: poor/non-existant - all cash deposits above 20.000 guilders will be reported to the authorities. preferred legal entities: private or public NV (can have bearer shares) public= NV, private= BV, you can also incorporate in Delaware [=Inc] or use another overseas "model" as long as you register with the local Chambers of Commerce. You then save 40.000 guilders in capital. taxes: complex, high (many loopholes for large offshore companies) a 40% corporate tax in profits till 250.000 guilders, the rest is taxed at 35%. In the Netherlands it is possible to discuss a prospective transaction with the tax authorities and obtian a ruling wich will determine its tax treatment. tax treaties: many Netherlands Antilles net access: --u-- domain: AN Panama net access: b-uFO languages: Spanish, English curency controls: none bank secrecy: good; numbered accounts permissable preferred legal entity: corporation taxes: none on income generated outside Panama tax treaties: only on shipping income Singapore net access: bIuF- languages: Malay, Mandarin, Tamil, English currency controls: none bank secrecy: moderate; numbered accounts available preferred legal entities: private limited company taxes: none on dividends, foreign deposit interest, or income derived from outside Singapore. tax treaties: many Switzerland net access: BIUFO languages: French, German, Italian, Romansch currency controls: none bank secrecy: moderate to good; numbered accounts available preferred legal entity: AG (stock company under Laws of Obligation) taxes: 3.6-9.8% worldwide income tax for operating companies, 35% witholding tax on interest and dividends tax treaties: many double-tax treaties Vanuata net access: --u-- languages: Melanesian, French, English currency controls: none bank secrecy: moderate? preferred legal entities: holding, trading, agency, mgmt. service, contracting taxes: no income or capital gains taxes tax treaties: none Western Samoa net access: --u-- languages: Samoan, English currency controls: none bank secrecy: good preferred legal entities: international company, offshore bank, insurance company taxes: none for companies under offshore acts tax treaties: none If you like having this information, let me know. Also let me know what other kinds of information you need on tax havens and net access; I'd love to be of service. If you have corrections to or additional information for the Tax Havens on the Net list, I'd be happy to add it with full attribution (or full privacy, as you prefer). To preserve your privacy, feel free to use anonymous remailers and encryption. My PGP key enclosed below. James R. Hart hart@chaos.bsu.edu -----BEGIN PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- Version: 2.2 mQCNAiz0Br4AAAEEAJohFjXdkx6i2Mq6nJXdJN+VGupeKwuu1SAiRvsBK7TQ1ajY d3wEFohbwaHGn3iq7A1//koipvzE5S/C6pPxIAHFeoYOUzeI/cWmh6vsuaF3/lVm K9lx/L7PyaF8rvd4FOmLqkvs1xk/24S9ZQaBb3cjhLV571NaiPCIc3SPJUKXAAUT tCJKYW1lcyBSLiBIYXJ0IDxoYXJ0QGNoYW9zLmJzdS5lZHU+ =z2UE -----END PGP PUBLIC KEY BLOCK----- ****************************************************************************** whois on a number of interesting countries ****************************************************************************** Panama (Republic of) top-level domain (PA3-DOM) PANAMANIAN ACADEMIC NATIONAL NETWORK (PANNET) UNIVERSIDAD TECNOLOGICA DE PANAMA P.O. BOX 6-2894 PANAMA 6A Domain Name: PA Domain Status: On Hold Pending Server Activation Administrative Contact: Lopez, Victor (VL7) VLOPEZ@NS.PA (507) 64-1771 Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Lezcano, Julio (JL78) JLEZCANO%UTPVM1.BITNET@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU (507) 64-1771 Record last updated on 25-May-94. Domain servers in listed order: NS.PA 168.77.8.2 NS.USMA.PA 168.77.100.2 NS.CR 163.178.8.2 ICM1.ICP.NET 192.94.207.66 ****************************************************************************** Antigua and Barbuda top-level domain (AG-DOM1) University of Puerto Rico Central Administration Building P.O. Box 364984G San Juan P.R. 00936 Domain Name: AG Administrative Contact: Junquera, Belinda (BJ2) b_junquera@UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU (809) 250-0000 ext. 5400 (FAX) (809) 763-6760 Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Ramos, Felix G. (FGR) f_ramos@UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU (809) 250-0000 ext. 5454 (FAX) (809) 763-6760 Record last updated on 28-Apr-94. Domain servers in listed order: UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU 136.145.1.4 Top Level domain for Antigua ****************************************************************************** Grenada (Republic of) top-level domain (GD1-DOM) University of Puerto Rico Central Administration Building P.O. Box 364984G San Juan P.R. 00936 Domain Name: GD Administrative Contact: Junquera, Belinda (BJ2) b_junquera@UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU (809) 250-0000 ext. 5400 (FAX) (809) 763-6760 Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Ramos, Felix G. (FGR) f_ramos@UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU (809) 250-0000 ext. 5454 (FAX) (809) 763-6760 Record last updated on 28-Apr-94. Domain servers in listed order: UPR1.UPR.CLU.EDU 136.145.1.4 Top Level domain for the Republic of Grenada ****************************************************************************** Cook Islands Network Information Center (CKNIC-DOM) Reserved by Asia Pacific NIC Domain Name: CKNIC.NET Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact: Asia Pacific Network Information Center (APNIC) admin@apnic.net +81-3-3580-3781 +81-3-3580-3784 (FAX) +81-3-3580-3782 Record last updated on 28-Feb-94. ******************************************************************************