Hail Mary: Trusted partners and service providers in Cyprus?

[newhorizons]

I have decided to throw a "in desperate need of help" Hail Mary as I'm drowning in (mis)information.

I plan on leaving Australia in Q1 2022 to retire in Thailand, and in summary, I just want to manage my own retirement money in both stocks and cryptos, and keep my taxation and reporting to a minimum. I stupidly thought that there would be a simple 'right answer' to this problem, but it seems that there are many approaches.

Research has had me leaning towards a Non-Domicile company incorporated in Cyprus, with a crypto friendly bank such as Bank Frick as my fiat on/off ramp - and stock trading with Interactive Brokers/crypto with an exchange such as Kraken. Notwithstanding that I have no idea if this is a valid approach (with nowhere to seek advice), my question is "how do I select a trusted lawyer and/or service provider for the advice, implementation, and ongoing services"? Using the most complex of tools out there - Google - I have identified a plethora of companies, but found nothing on recommendations etc.

I'm struggling with the following ……….and any advice would make me a very happy man!

• Assuming that I need a Nominee Directorship service in Cyprus, how do I find a trusted one, and can I protect myself from access to brokerage accounts etc.?
• Is the Bank Frick approach correct, or should I look for something more reputable for larger account balances and daily transactions?
• Is there a way to avoid tax reporting obligations on individual crypto transactions (which get very complicated when investing in Decentralized Finance?)
• If I incorporate, and open accounts before I leave Australia, will I fall foul of establishing non-residency status with the Australian tax authorities?

 

[CyprusLaw]

I have decided to throw a "in desperate need of help" Hail Mary as I'm drowning in (mis)information.

I plan on leaving Australia in Q1 2022 to retire in Thailand, and in summary, I just want to manage my own retirement money in both stocks and cryptos, and keep my taxation and reporting to a minimum. I stupidly thought that there would be a simple 'right answer' to this problem, but it seems that there are many approaches.

Research has had me leaning towards a Non-Domicile company incorporated in Cyprus, with a crypto friendly bank such as Bank Frick as my fiat on/off ramp - and stock trading with Interactive Brokers/crypto with an exchange such as Kraken. Notwithstanding that I have no idea if this is a valid approach (with nowhere to seek advice), my question is "how do I select a trusted lawyer and/or service provider for the advice, implementation, and ongoing services"? Using the most complex of tools out there - Google - I have identified a plethora of companies, but found nothing on recommendations etc.

I'm struggling with the following ……….and any advice would make me a very happy man!

• Assuming that I need a Nominee Directorship service in Cyprus, how do I find a trusted one, and can I protect myself from access to brokerage accounts etc.?
• Is the Bank Frick approach correct, or should I look for something more reputable for larger account balances and daily transactions?
• Is there a way to avoid tax reporting obligations on individual crypto transactions (which get very complicated when investing in Decentralized Finance?)
• If I incorporate, and open accounts before I leave Australia, will I fall foul of establishing non-residency status with the Australian tax authorities?

Hi,

We have a lot of similar structures in Cyprus. Happy to PM you to discuss.

 

[newhorizons]

Hi,

We have a lot of similar structures in Cyprus. Happy to PM you to discuss.

Absolutely. Please feel free to DM when convenient

 

[Don]

Happy to help!
Trust but verify the advisors you are speaking to.

 

[newhorizons]

It's the verify part that I am struggling with :-(

No amount of "Googling" - or posting on forums - seems to be telling me that an advisor is trustworthy

 

[Don]

It's the verify part that I am struggling with :-(

No amount of "Googling" - or posting on forums - seems to be telling me that an advisor is trustworthy

Ask for certifications. Quite often it's also possible to verify this on LinkedIn.
For international tax, ADIT certification is a valid credential. https://www.tax.org.uk/adit
For domestic tax laws for each jurisdiction, you would most likely have to rely on multiple accountants or lawyers, and this is usually how international tax advisors work - they explain your tax risks, and advise how to mitigate them, analyze the tax treaties and explain the main principles of international taxation. However, in many cases, a few things have to be confirmed by local accountants, since there is no person who is an expert in all the jurisdictions.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

Ask for certifications. Quite often it's also possible to verify this on LinkedIn.
For international tax, ADIT certification is a valid credential. https://www.tax.org.uk/adit
For domestic tax laws for each jurisdiction, you would most likely have to rely on multiple accountants or lawyers, and this is usually how international tax advisors work - they explain your tax risks, and advise how to mitigate them, analyze the tax treaties and explain the main principles of international taxation. However, in many cases, a few things have to be confirmed by local accountants, since there is no person who is an expert in all the jurisdictions.

I am an ADIT holder, amongst others credentials)

 

[EliasIT]

Hi,

We have a lot of similar structures in Cyprus. Happy to PM you to discuss.

Ask for certifications. Quite often it's also possible to verify this on LinkedIn.
For international tax, ADIT certification is a valid credential. https://www.tax.org.uk/adit
For domestic tax laws for each jurisdiction, you would most likely have to rely on multiple accountants or lawyers, and this is usually how international tax advisors work - they explain your tax risks, and advise how to mitigate them, analyze the tax treaties and explain the main principles of international taxation. However, in many cases, a few things have to be confirmed by local accountants, since there is no person who is an expert in all the jurisdictions.

I am an ADIT holder, amongst others credentials)

Are you all three licensed ? That's the first step.

OP I would also look for if there are users around here that already have made use of one of these providers or if you can find complains about them here. OffshoreCorpTalk forum users tend to quickly pull the trigger if they get robbed by a provider from here.

Another thing is to ask Admin if you have mentor group gold you can PM him and ask, in addition there is a list of trusted payment providers in the mentor group gold forums.

 

[newhorizons]

Are you all three licensed ? That's the first step.

OP I would also look for if there are users around here that already have made use of one of these providers or if you can find complains about them here. OffshoreCorpTalk forum users tend to quickly pull the trigger if they get robbed by a provider from here.

Another thing is to ask Admin if you have mentor group gold you can PM him and ask, in addition there is a list of trusted payment providers in the mentor group gold forums.

This is great advice, and is received with many thanks!!.

I think my needs are fairly "vanilla" and I was hoping to avoid joining the Mentor Group Gold just for verifying members, but you are absolutely right, this is the best way to DM people and ask directly.

I would also like to believe that your point about forum members being quick on saying negative things about service providers - and this is where my current thinking lies. Cheers

 

[Sols]

• Assuming that I need a Nominee Directorship service in Cyprus, how do I find a trusted one, and can I protect myself from access to brokerage accounts etc.?

This has been covered quite well already but in addition to what's mentioned, check that the company you work with is licensed by CySEC as an ASP (administrative service provider) and/or a member of the Cyprus bar association.

https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/asp/
http://www.cyprusbarassociation.org/

• Is the Bank Frick approach correct, or should I look for something more reputable for larger account balances and daily transactions?

Bank Frick is absolutely swamped with applications. They are being very picky with who they onboard. If your wealth is significant (at least 500,000 CHF, preferably over a million) and you have a clean history and all documents in order, it will probably be approved. But if not, it's an uphill battle with unclear chances of success.

So don't bet on Bank Frick alone. It might be wise to consider SEBA or Sygnum as well, and one or two crypto friendly e-money institutions. Even Swissquote might be worth looking at.

• If I incorporate, and open accounts before I leave Australia, will I fall foul of establishing non-residency status with the Australian tax authorities?

The risk is not zero.

 

[newhorizons]

This has been covered quite well already but in addition to what's mentioned, check that the company you work with is licensed by CySEC as an ASP (administrative service provider) and/or a member of the Cyprus bar association.

Excellent advice, and definitely something that I should do as part of my due diligence.

Bank Frick is absolutely swamped with applications. They are being very picky with who they onboard. If your wealth is significant (at least 500,000 CHF, preferably over a million) and you have a clean history and all documents in order, it will probably be approved. But if not, it's an uphill battle with unclear chances of success.

So don't bet on Bank Frick alone. It might be wise to consider SEBA or Sygnum as well, and one or two crypto friendly e-money institutions. Even Swissquote might be worth looking at.

I was aware that they were swamped, but I do have a little time up my sleeve (not much, but a little). Out of interest, are you implying a minimum net worth of 500k CHF, or a balance to be maintained/injected into the bank? I'm not suggesting it would make a difference, but it would be great to get some clarity on it as that it a lot of liquidity sitting around doing nothing!

I has considered Swissquote, but not SEBA or Sygnum, so I will be looking into those this week. Thanks for pointing them out!

 

[CyprusLaw]

This has been covered quite well already but in addition to what's mentioned, check that the company you work with is licensed by CySEC as an ASP (administrative service provider) and/or a member of the Cyprus bar association.

https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/asp/
http://www.cyprusbarassociation.org/

Just to clarify - companies that are registered as ASPs with CySEC are the ones that are just service providers. So they are not law firms or audit/accounting firms. Law firms and accounting firms can provide ASP services without being registered with CySEC as they are regulated by the Cyprus Bar Association and by ICPAC respectively.

 

[Martin Everson]

Very much appreciated!!!!!

This now banned user (AAAM) was a new user who joined simply to spam forum with adverts for his potentially fraudulent company with no regards for forum rules. He has been caught red handed and banned and his posted removes. Some posts will remain however as they have already been quoted by others.

 

[Don]

Another thing to consider when you use nominees is to evaluate the person being appointed.
It might not be the best solution if the sole director of your company is also managing 500+ other entities.

 

[newhorizons]

It might not be the best solution if the sole director of your company is also managing 500+ other entities

Yes, after the protection of my assets, this concern is towards the very top of my list............but the million dollar question of course, is how to evaluate this?

Thanks for pointing this out though