Offshore Latvia: An Ideal Banking Secrecy Jurisdiction In The EU

Offshore Latvia – An ideal place for banking secrecy instead of Switzerland!

Latvia is an Eastern European country, now a part of the EU, lying at the border of the Baltic Sea, and is almost the same size as Ireland. It is a very stable country in the Baltic region, in fact one of the most stable one.

It does not have offshore company formation laws but does have specific banking secrecy ones, which are attracting foreigners to invest there and avail of their banking secrecy laws.

Latvia Information

• Latvia’s official name is Republic of Latvia

• Riga is the capital of Republic of Latvia

• Divided into 5 planning regions and 26 administrative districts

• Latvia’s type of government is parliamentary republic

• Latvia became a member of World Trade Organization in 1999 and have since then ratified many international treaties

• Became part of European Union and NATO in 2004

• Population of Latvia is around 2.3 million

• Latvia’s 11.9% GDP growth is one of the highest in Europe, however it has an inflation rate of around 6%

Latvia Gets A Boost

Large numbers of investors have started investing in Latvia basically due to the successful implementation of the Latvian government's plans to boost the economy.

Government policies have rapidly increased the GDP, boosted the economy and improved the lifestyle and wealth of masses in Latvia. As they have started getting richer and their purchasing power has increased greatly, there are new investors and several new opportunities.

Also the outstanding mortgage loan and interest rates are extremely low as compared to the other European Union countries.

There are no restrictions on foreign investment in real estate and EU nationals have the same liberties as in their own countries.

All these reasons add up to boost offshore Latvia.

The business environment and the investment incentives in offshore Latvia banking

Latvia’s banking sector is expanding and advancing. There are 22 fully functioning banks in Latvia. They already offer fast rate, advanced, high tech and effective online services to the customers. Some of the factors that make offshore Latvia as the best choice are as under:

• Latvia has one of the most advanced infrastructure, transportation, and communication systems.

• The banks provide strict secrecy laws and no banking references are required.

• The banks provide multi-currency offshore accounts, thus enabling you to have business deals in various currencies in different countries.

• Registration procedure for the banks in Latvia is also not complicated and does not require much paper work. One needs to submit the copy of passport for offshore Latvia. Other than this corporate documents and certificates are required which is easily understandable. Apart from these power of attorney is required.

• No taxes are levied on exports from Latvia. But on certain goods like wood, natural resources export duty is administered.

• Latvia has one of the best credit ratings in Europe as big credit rating companies have given it “A-minus/stable” ratings.

However, like other safe banking havens, the know your client details are stringent so if your want to open an account there, be prepared to answer a host of questions!