Offshore Company Formation in 35+ Locations

Structural Requirements for Forming an Offshore Company

Every offshore jurisdiction has its own legal requirements for how a company must be structured. Understanding these requirements can help ensure that the company is structured correctly and meets the appropriate legal requirements.

Documents Required for Formation of an Offshore Company

To ensure a smooth and compliant offshore company formation process, a set of standard documents must be submitted. These are under international KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations.

Reputed Banking Partners which Gryffin Capitalist works with

The right banking partner plays a significant role as opening an offshore bank account is a crucial step in the offshore company setup process. We work with the following banks to ensure everything is transparent.

Common Scenarios for Choosing an Offshore Company

Investors can choose offshore company formation for different international business, investment, and structural reasons. Depending on the jurisdiction, company structure and proposed activity, an offshore company may be used for:

Compliance Obligations for Offshore Companies

The offshore landscape has changed fundamentally over the past decade. What was once a lightly regulated space is now subject to extensive international compliance frameworks. Hence, understanding these frameworks has become the need of the hour for every offshore venture.
This section explains the important compliance obligations that apply to offshore companies and their owners and what Gryffin Capitalist does to ensure every company we form is fully compliant from day one.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF)

The Financial Action Task Force sets global AML and counter-terrorism financing standards. Offshore jurisdictions on the FATF grey list face enhanced scrutiny from the administration and financial institutions. All jurisdictions we recommend are either FATF members or compliant with FATF standards.

Common Reporting Standard (CRS)

The Common Reporting Standard requires financial institutions in more than 100 countries to automatically report account information of foreign tax residents to their home country tax authorities. If your offshore company holds a bank account and you are a tax resident in a CRS country, your home tax authority will receive details of that account annually.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)

FATCA is a US federal law enacted in 2010 to mitigate the non-compliant tax activities conducted by US taxpayers. This act requires foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to identify and report accounts held by US persons to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Failing to do so by the financial institutions will result in a 30% withholding tax on US-sourced payments.
Hence, if you are a US citizen having an offshore company with US beneficiaries, FATCA regulations must not be overlooked. Many banks in the offshore jurisdictions are now seen to decline offshore bank account opening requests from US persons due to the FATCA implications. Clients with US connections should disclose early during their formation journey so that we can offer the best banking solutions.

Economic Substance Requirements (ESR)

Many offshore jurisdictions now require companies conducting certain "relevant activities," like banking, insurance, fund management, etc., to demonstrate and fulfill economic substance requirements. This means the company must be able to prove that they have real employees, local management, and operational expenditures in the registered jurisdiction. For example, a virtual office address will not work in this case.

Beneficial Ownership Register

To comply with the compliance standards, many offshore jurisdictions now have to maintain a beneficial ownership register. The good news is that this register is mostly not publicly accessible, but it must be submitted to regulatory authorities on request. Accurate beneficial ownership disclosure is mandatory and non-negotiable.

KYC and AML Obligations

All registered agents, corporate service providers, and banks are required by law to conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) due diligence on their clients. This includes verifying identity documents, source of funds, and the nature of the business. Gryffin Capitalist conducts full KYC on all clients before accepting an engagement.

Accounting Record Keeping

Even in jurisdictions that do not require public filing of accounts, offshore companies are generally required to maintain internal accounting records that can be produced on request. Failure to maintain adequate books and records can result in deregistration of the company and personal liability for directors.

Top Jurisdictions for Offshore Company Formation

When deciding on a jurisdiction to set up an offshore company it is important to consider certain factors. The table below lists some jurisdictions based on factors like banking reputation, privacy and ideal businesses.

Our Offshore Company Incorporation Services

We offer professional offshore company formation services to ensure you are prepared for various business challenges.

• Company Formation – We offer our customers assistance in more than 35 offshore countries across the world. Our process is streamlined to ensure the company is formed without any delays.
• Bank Account Opening Assistance - Our team of banking experts will understand your requirements and accordingly offer banking options for your business. Further, we assist with bank introduction and application preparation.
• Nominee Services – Our nominee services ensure your privacy is paramount and protected. We make sure that all the compliance requirements are fulfilled.
• Registered Agent and Address – Our vast network of partners in various jurisdictions guarantee that you never face issues with the registered agent and registered address requirements.
• Annual Filing Requirements - Our team sends timely reminders for company renewals and annual filing requirements. We assist with annual filing requirements to ensure compliance in offshore locations.