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Offshore banking is one of the most well-known parts of a global freedom and diversity strategy.

For quite a long time, offshore banking was really only available to the ultra-wealthy, though that's definitely not the case today with the rise of digital banks, and ease of access to global financial markets.

First, let's take a look at some of the biggest myths related to offshore banking.

Offshore Banking Myths

There are a significant number of myths floating around in the offshore world, mostly that have come as a result of the way movies and other media have injected these ideas into popular culture. You've probably heard some of these myths before, and maybe believe some of them yourself.

• MYTH 1: SWISS NUMBERED BANK ACCOUNTS: One of the biggest memes in offshore banking is that of the "secret”numbered Swiss bank account, with no name attached to it. Yes, these accounts do exist today, however, there are significant limits to them. For example, companies are generally forbidden from holding them, and for individuals, there are limitations on who can own one in some cases (for example, political figures) and a significant deposit is usually required to open one.
• MYTH 2: NOBODY CAN TOUCH YOUR OFFSHORE ACCOUNT: Many believe that as soon as your money is offshore and out of the borders of your home country, that it's untouchable. This is simply not true. While it may make your money harder to seize by a government or via someone taking legal action against you, it's not bulletproof. In some areas (Europe, for example) it's almost as easy for someone to come after your funds in another European nation as it would be in your home European country, due to Europe's strict financial laws.
• MYTH 3: OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS ARE 100% PRIVATE: In most cases, you will need to provide significant identification to open an offshore bank account, and even potentially be required to have some kind of connection to that country to legally be able to open one.
• MYTH 4: OFFSHORE BANK ACCOUNTS ALLOW YOU TO HIDE TAX MONEY: Again, this is a myth. If you're a tax resident of a certain country, but hide some of your income in a bank account abroad, you're likely breaking the law if you don't report that income to your government. Chances are, they'll catch up with you eventually. We'll talk about this more in our section on asset declaration.

Offshore Banking Benefits

Despite offshore banking maybe not sounding super attractive after reading some of the myths related to them (and possibly how secure they may not be), you may be wondering why you should bother with it at all.

But there are many reasons an offshore bank account is a solid part of any Anticitizen's strategy.

In our previous lesson on safe money we covered some of these reasons. But here is a more detailed list of why offshore banking can be beneficial:

• Asset Protection: Safeguard assets from political instability, lawsuits, hyperinflation, and local economic downturns, economic collapse or civil unrest.
• Privacy: Enhanced financial privacy and confidentiality, especially in jurisdictions with strict banking secrecy laws.
• Currency Hedging: Manage exposure to currency risk by holding multiple currencies in one account.
• Diversification: Geographic diversification of assets to reduce risk.