Are You All Sitting Comfortably..? Part - I

Are You All Sitting Comfortably..?  Trans At : Part - I

Let me tell you a story.......of Trans At.

Trans At is essentially just an umbrella for several offshore entities each linked to a business based in country where the trading and profits involved would normally be taxed at a level that might be considered 'discouraging'. The home (Onshore) enterprise is shown as being a ‘branch’ of an offshore company or simply a stand alone admin office. The offshore company – usually an IBC of St Kitts and Nevis – is incorporated by PJ (President of Trans At) through the offices of Morning Star Holdings Charlestown, Nevis, one of the principle company formation and registered agents service companies. The usual format is for PJ (principality resident and PDG of Trans At) to be appointed President, Director and Treasurer and for his partner SM to be Vice-President, Director, and Secretary. There is normally no paid up capital. Shareholding - usually by bearer shares (in the past) or to ‘Trans At Nominees’ a further Nevis IBC.

In the majority of cases, Trans At does no more for its client than arrange incorporation of an offshore entity; in some instances purporting that PJ is the Beneficial Owner, set up a bank account with PJ and SM as signatories, and then simply carry out the instructions of the real BO with regard to giving payment instructions to the bank once the accounts are put in funds. In other case the banks are advised who the proper ultimate benical owner and are provided with a copy of their passport. Trans At will also issue invoicing if needed.

Trans At took over this role from UTD Fleet Management (UFM) in 1999/2000. UFM had been set up in the mid 70’s by JJ, of Greek origin, to manage commercial management (chartering) contracts. At the time, PJ worked as a clerk in a Greek bank in London and JJ was a client of the bank. JJ approached PJ offering him a post in his new office in the Principality. During his time as an employee with UFM, PJ made acquaintances with shipowners and managers that would eventually become his own clients . UFM fell on troubled times and PJ was not paid his salary for many months. Eventually in exchange for the unpaid salary JJ signed over a 51% shareholding in UFM to PJ who then set off trying to establish some sort of management business with hi snewly acquired holding. Leaving behind many debts, JJ fled the Principality in the early 1990’s, but via a Swiss holding company retained 49% in UFM.

Eventually PJ managed to attract clients, principally via shipowners and managers based in northwestern Germany, which he put through the books of UFM, and others that were not put through the books but through an offshore company with a similar name UFM. PJ would produce annual accounts for UFM and in the usual fashion (quite legal in the Principalty) the majority of any profits would be assigned as special indemnities for administrators. Year end accounts therefore would always show the 'generally accepted level' of profit in the Principality of about 3% of turnover which would then be declared and 'taxed'. The accounts would be prepared and sent to the holding in Switzerland for the signature of the minority shareholder 'Temp Ora' (who would basically receive nothing as the company was shown assimply just ticking over and making hardly any profit).

During this time, around 1993/4, BS (a ship owning and management company, and its sister (in-house) crewing company LS, both based in the same offices in a town near the mouth of the River Ems in Ostfriesland, Germany had already been experimenting with running their own crewing operation via an offshore entity in Cyprus.

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To be continued

The Strange Affair of the Panzas

The Strange Affair of the Panzas

Thjs really was a strange affair wasn't it?  A German company trying to offset the sale of tanks to a Greek company for the latter's preferential services -- and all through an offshore company managed in the Principality.

Now,  What Was That All about ?

The Story of JayKay (not that one) - Part I

The Story of JayKay (no, not that one)

Part I - Jobless in Monaco

The realm of creating fictitious employees is not reserved exclusively for the President of the French Republic..... it happens in other cases too.  Even in Monaco.

JayKay Keraudren had been actively employed by a maritime management company, called Transocean, in the Principality of Monaco for many years. Having been through a purple patch things weren't going as well as they had been and it seemed too that JayKay was not enjoying a totally frictionless relationship with the wife of the the company's No.1. Something had to give.

One way or another JayKay eventually ended up parting company with his longtime employer, but thing weren't going to be too easy to pick up from there. JayKay was not exactly a 'spring chicken' and job opportunities in the region few and far between. Starting up on your own was rather difficult - in the Principality there were lots of stringent requirements to meet and a rather prohibitive minimum capital requirement.

Time was passing and nothing materialised for JayKay......all these months unemployed.......and no contributions were being made to his pension plan.... this was getting serious. But JayKay had a plan.

A friend of JayKay's – Peter Coleridge – had his own business and fully registered company in the Principality of Monaco - Transat Maritime SAM. Unfortunately Mr Coleridge did have not have any requirement for JayKay's skill set but what if it was made to look as if JayKay had a job in Mr Coleridge's office? He could reimburse Mr Coleridge each month from his savings but it would mean that his pension fund would still be receiving 'legitimate' contributions, and that there would be no problem with claiming reimbursement of medical expenses from the local social security. Not to mention the fact that there wouldn't be a gaping whole in JayKay's CV.

So how was this to work? If JayKay was to be shown as as office employee he would need to be assigned a desk; a computer; etc etc. The solution, of course, was to make him a travelling salesman. No desk needed. No need to come into the office. No need to be 'seen' by the rest of the staff. Just spend the time 'apparently' travelling all over Europe and beyond in the search for clients, making those pitches, and closing those contracts.

Only problem - Anyone fulfilling this task in real life would have had his work cut out making 'expense claims' for reimbursement of all the expenses he incurred on a daily basis; airline tickets, fuel bills, hotels bills, train and bus fares, refreshments while on the road, telephone calls – hundreds of them, entertaining expenses – feting the clients to close that all important contract. He would need a company mobile phone.

It wasn't going to be easy.

And was Mr Coleridge going to keep this to himself and not tell his Co Director and wife, Sandra Coleridge?  Or was he going to 'let her in' on his arrangement with one of his best friends ?