International tax consulting, offshore company formations and legal services firm, specializing in the Latin American and Caribbean region

There are two main factors in having an effective AML/CFT policy: who are the beneficial owners of the money or goods and where did the money […]

Botswana is a little-known jurisdiction that is open for the international offshore finance business. I've recently been on a fact-finding mission there and have prepared the following summary about Offshore Bank Account Opening in Botswana for non-residents. I also cover International Companies in Botswana and Residence in Botswana, as well as the tax situation in Botswana as it affects non-residents.

Bitcoin, Ether and Tether have these days has acquired the status of a "reserve currency" in the roller-coaster world of crypto currencies. Day traders or ICO investment bankers and market makers earn their cash in more exotic crypto currencies but nothing beats Bitcoin as the store of value.

The world of cryptocurrency is rapidly coming upon us. It is accepted now as an official secure exchange mechanism between buyer and seller in purchasing of goods, signing of contracts dealing with various government agencies and the like. We will not go into the details here of how it works - readers of this already understand at least the basic principles. But what is important is that this is growing world wide and (hopefully) one day replace the banking system that imposes so many restrictions on what we can and cannot do with our money - not to mention keeping what we do with our money private.

Today many countries are looking for ways to bring hard currency into their coffers. They use these funds to either create jobs by developing real estate projects, or to pay off their debts, or to even put some money away for a rainy day. This is why there are many Citizenship by Investment programmes (CIB) available today. The Caribbean nation of St. Kitts and Nevis began this program in 1994. Other Caribbean nations followed. Later Europe got into the act offering citizenship to persons willing to make large investments into the country, like Malta and Cyprus. Now other nations like Moldova and Bulgaria are offering the same thing.

Here at Kevelex we are often asked about things you should consider when setting up a new international / offshore bank of fintech business. For example, one of our most popular products was the Singapore Stored Value Facility.