As the world deals with more economic and political turbulence, protecting your wealth has become of the utmost importance. Putting “all your eggs in one basket” has long been a bad practice but is now even more so now that the pandemic gave us a look into how major catastrophes can swiftly swing the economic pendulum.
The world’s elite use a large array of asset protection tools and methods to safeguard their wealth against uncertainty, and one of the best ways to do so is establishing a company on foreign soil. But blindly setting up shop in a destination due to its brand may be costly, and thorough due diligence is required before you invest in your future.
But we are here to help with that by narrowing down your choices and highlighting why opening an LLC in the Caribbean island of Nevis can prove to be your optimal asset protection solution.
How a Nevis LLC can protect your assets
The Caribbean nation of St. Kitts & Nevis is quite popular for its citizenship by investment program, but it is also one of the leading nations in the area in terms of financial services and a healthy business environment. The pro-business government has worked tirelessly to develop the economic landscape of the nation to attract more global investors and corporations.
The government introduced a new LLC ordinance in 2017, which not only defines and organizes the regulations surrounding establishing and operating an LLC within its borders but heavily favors LLC members in terms of their liability and rights.
Now, an LLC by definition (limited liability company) limits the liability of its members and protects them from claims filed against the corporation. In the new ordinance, an LLC by itself is treated as its own, independent person, with rights to legal action and business activity such as the acquisition of tangible assets.
This in term means that a company is to some extent separated from its owners when a creditor comes calling, offering a layer of protection to its founders.
But here comes the interesting part, opening an LLC in the nation can differ in terms of privacy and protection depending on which island you establish it on.
The smaller Nevis has a more favorable legal landscape when it comes to establishing an LLC for the purposes of asset protection, and boasts a financial sector more than capable of servicing those LLCs.
But what makes the naturally stunning island the perfect destination for your new LLC? We are glad you asked, let’s go into some details.
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Making safe investments
By opening an LLC in Nevis, you can shift some of your assets to a secure location dictated by robust common law. LLCs in Nevis are treated as their own, independent persons, meaning they can file legal claims, acquire tangible assets, and make investments as an individual entity.
This regulation allows your Nevis LLC to conduct business freely and on your behalf. If you are in a country that restricts some type of investment, such as investing in cryptocurrency, you can let your Nevis LLC take care of that for you.
This also mitigates the risk of international economic barriers constructed through political kerfuffles or instability. If you do a lot of business with Russia, for example, and your country then cuts economic ties with it, your Nevis LLC can continue your business hiccup-free.
Protection against creditors
Nevis has one of the most favorable legislations when it comes to protecting your assets from creditors. An LLC, by definition, limits your liability in the company, but the robust legal framework of Nevis makes it an even more secure tool.
First off, courts in Nevis do not recognize foreign court orders when it comes to liquidating the company or paying compensation. If a creditor wants to sue your Nevis LLC and win, they have to do it on Nevisian soil. But that isn’t simple either.
Suing a resident company in a foreign land is complex enough, especially when you consider creditors have to find a capable attorney and afford their hefty legal fees.
Moreover, any foreign national wishing to sue a Nevisian LLC must deposit a 25,000 bond with the government before pursuing their legal claim, and courts have the authority to increase that number as they see fit. In the event creditors do continue and file a claim, they have one year to follow up on that claim and only three years to finalize it.
But the pièce de résistance comes in the burden of proof, as civil cases in Nevis take on the highest evidential level required by creditors, which is proving wrongdoing beyond a reasonable doubt. This level is usually reserved for criminal cases in nations such as the US.
The utmost privacy
Nevis takes personal privacy very seriously, and we are not just talking about exclusive beaches or serene villas, but personal information that governments and people will try to make you reveal.
Hence, the small island has created a resolute personal data protection framework that gives you peace of mind knowing that your information is safe and well-kept.
Whether you want to keep your data private because of your government back home probing into all of your business, avoid hackers and blackmailers, or just because you believe your info should stay just that, yours, then Nevis has got you covered.
The public register does not show the names of LLC owners to the public, and even during the Paradise Paper leaks, when 13.4 million documents from all around the world were leaked to the public, Nevisian LLC owners were on the safe side of things.
70,000 Nevisian company documents were leaked to the public, but even then, no one could find out who owned any of them. The same can’t be said for companies in other jurisdictions, which the Paradise Papers included.
That is the level of data protection and privacy that has made Nevis such as favorable destination for global investors looking to get the prying eyes of the world off their back.
Safe crypto investments
St. Kitts & Nevis is one of the friendliest cryptocurrency countries in the world. It allows for cryptocurrency trading and even supports its citizens by doing so by allowing banks to install Bitcoin ATMs all throughout the nation’s cities.
Now, we already said that through an LLC you can conduct your global business uninterrupted, but cryptocurrency trading in Nevis is so simplified that it garners its own mention.
Nevisian LLCs have the support and services of banks, such as brokerage and consultations, to enhance their cryptocurrency portfolios, or they can go about it themselves without the need of any loopholes or complex frameworks.
In nations where investing in cryptocurrency is prohibited, most people who do so seek the assistance of intermediaries who have the setup that allows them to conduct crypto investments on their behalf.
By opening an LLC in Nevis you do not have to rely on those middlemen anymore, and can actually set up that LLC to become the middleman yourself.
Protection against taxation
Now opening an LLC in Nevis is not a magical spell that will rid you of all your taxes, but it is a way to have more control over what you pay. Nevis’s offshore companies can apply for massive tax exemptions and are not subject to capital gains tax. So, if you live in a country with massive corporate or capital gains taxes you can use your Nevisian LLC to downgrade those payments and gain greater control over your taxation structure.
Setting up an LLC is extremely simple
You only need a handful of documents and a week’s time to set up an LLC in Nevis; it is that simple. It can become even easier through using the expertise of a local company through a power of attorney (POA), as they will do most of the heavy lifting for you while you get to reap the rewards.
If you would like to know more about setting up an LLC in Nevis, how to better protect your assets, or how to gain sovereignty for you and your wealth, contact us today to book a comprehensive consultation with one of our veteran consultants.
