Yacht Registration
Confidentiality, Compliance & Regulation
Confidentiality
The current degree of disclosure varies between offshore finance centres.
In most of the European and onshore jurisdictions there is a requirement to publicly file details of directors, shareholders and secretary. Anonymity can therefore only be retained by using nominee shareholders and professional directors.
Jurisdictions such as Turks & Caicos Islands, British Virgin Islands and Bahamas used to require only minimal disclosure. However, most now require registers of directors and shareholders to be retained at the registered office address. Whether these are open for public inspection or not varies by jurisdiction.
In the jurisdictions that follow English common law, there is generally an implied duty for management companies, bankers, etc. to keep their clients' affairs confidential. In some jurisdictions there may be additional local legislation that statutorily protects confidentiality and imposes criminal penalties for breaches. However, OECD, FATF, EU and US tax information exchange treaties have now eroded confidentiality to the extent that it is unrealistic to believe that it exists at all.
Know your Customer Principles / Due Diligence
Company managers and banks have adopted 'know your customer principles' following the worldwide introduction of money laundering legislation. These principles make it a requirement for them to know the identity of the beneficial owner, the source of monies being transferred into an account and the type of business a company will undertake. The supply of this information is a legal requirement and clients should expect to provide full and frank information about themselves, their business dealings and their future plans.