Many clients want to remain anonymous for a number of legitimate reasons. Anonymity is achieved by using nominees to act as company directors or shareholders.
The nominees are physical persons or companies which are wholly owned by our law firm. If the client wants to remain anonymous then we use our nominee companies to act as directors and shareholders of a company. This is a form of “trust” recognisable in common law countries whereby a person is the legal owner (our nominee company) holding the shares of a company for the beneficiary (the client).
How does this work?
When the company is incorporated our nominee companies will be appointed as shareholders and directors of the newly created company. At the same time we issue a “trust deed” to the client by which we agree to hold the shares for his benefit and under his instructions. Simultaneously we issue a “transfer of shares instrument” which is signed and delivered to the client. In this way the client can transfer the shares of the company to his or any other person’s name at any time he wishes.
If the client wants us to act as directors as well then our nominee director will issue a power of attorney to the client empowering him to represent the company in any matter. The power of attorney is valid for one year and renewable upon payment of our fees.
Before executing any documents and acting as nominees the client has to sign in favour of our nominee companies an indemnity.
Procedures
In order to act as nominees it is very important to verify the identity of the client and make sure that the company will not be used for any illegal activities like money laundering. For this purpose we always ask for the following information:
- Passport. Copy of all shareholders and directors passport certified by a lawyer or notary public and apostilled.
- Bank Reference for all shareholders and directors.
- Utility Bill (not older than 3 months) for all shareholders and directors.
If the shareholder or director will be a foreign company then we require the above information for its shareholders and directors.
Is Anonymity Guaranteed?
Anonymity is safeguarded because of the lawyer – client professional privilege which cannot be lifted, albeit in limited circumstances and only with a court order.