Assume that you have *anonymously* created a Limited Liability
Corporation in a state that does NOT require the name of the owner of
the corporation on the actual incorporation papers. Assume further
that you have filed for and received a federal tax id for the LLC.

Is there a way to set up a business checking account in the US (in the
name of the LLC with it's tax id) WITHOUT your personal name being
associated with the checking account? (The banks in my area require
this information).

Note: I am NOT trying to avoid taxes. Nor am I interested in breaking
the law. What I am interested in is protecting my privacy to the
utmost.

*Any* creative solutions that would allow me to establish a
'personally anonymous' business checking account would qualify.

Thanks for asking!

While I cannot investigate the veracity of these banking services, I
can provide pointers to resources that currently offer private or
anonymous banking options. You should seek to verify that the
information provided by these sources is both accurate and legitimate.

Within the U.S., the banking regulations in Nevada are most favorable
to privacy. According to Privatetech Group:

"For the past twenty-five years Nevada has been steadily growing into
the top jurisdiction for small and medium size business formation. For
years it seemed Delaware was the only place to establish a corporate
base, but with reporting requirements, taxation and privacy issues the
trend began moving toward the west.

While the beginnings were based on casino ownership and rumors of
organized crime, the state has held for personal and corporate privacy
as a way of life. Business structures have become a major industry in
the Silver State. With legislators holding hard and fast to age-old
privacy principles the state continues to be the best and strongest
corporate jurisdiction."
http://www.privatechgroup.com/jurisdictions.htm

Privatech Group  further outlines the advantages to Nevada corporate
structures and banking:

"Why Nevada? 
-- No Corporate Income Tax
-- No Taxes on Corporate Shares
-- No Franchise Tax
-- No Personal Income Tax
-- No I.R.S. Information Sharing Agreement
-- Nominal Annual Fees
-- Minimal Reporting and Disclosure Requirements
-- Stockholders are not Public Record

Additional Advantages:
-- Stockholders, directors and officers need not live or hold meetings
in Nevada, or even be U.S. Citizens.
-- Directors need not be Stockholders
-- Officers and directors of a Nevada corporation can be protected
from personal liability for lawful acts of the corporation.
-- Nevada corporations may purchase, hold, sell or transfer shares of
its own stock.
-- Nevada corporations may issue stock for capital, services, personal
property, or real estate, including leases and options. The directors
may determine the value of any of these transactions, and their
decision is final.
-- Nevada allows for Nominee Officers and Directors"

http://www.privatechgroup.com/faqs.htm

Searching Business.com's directory I located two resources which
provide assistance in establishing bank accounts within the state of
Nevada.

Nevada Corporate Headquarters offers assistance with incorporation and
private banking that utilize Nevada's advantageous private disclosure
requirements. A Windows Media Player video on privacy protection is
also available.

http://nchinc.com/packages.php
http://nchinc.com/asf/privacy.asx

CollectionProof.com offers Nevada incorporation, in addition to the
services of a nominee officer and a private bank account.
CollectionProof.com's FAQ states:

"DO I NEED TO PROVIDE ANY EXTRA DOCUMENTS TO GET A NEVADA CORPORATION?
No, we do everything for you to set up the corporation. If you are
going to be the signor on the corporate bank account, the bank
requires two signed forms, which we provide to you.

IF THE BANK KNOWS WHO I AM, DOESN'T THAT GIVE UP SOME PRIVACY?
We can provide a signor for your Nevada corporate account (will full
security safeguards in place, of course) so that you can bank with
total anonymity in the U.S...

I ALREADY HAVE A CORPORATION IN MY HOME STATE. HOW DOES A NEVADA WORK
WITH IT, AND SHOULD I HAVE A NEVADA?
Nevada has no corporate or personal income tax. This may be important
if you live in states with state income tax rates that are high. The
first step is to establish a Nevada corporation to work with your
current non-Nevada corporation. Then you can employ your Nevada
corporation to provide a service to your non-Nevada corporation. Your
Nevada corporation can be a supplier, financial consultant, marketer,
advertiser, management consultant or serve in some other capacity as a
provider of services to your non-Nevada corporation. Then your
non-Nevada corporation can pay your Nevada corporation for services
rendered, creating an expense for your non-Nevada company and income
for your Nevada corporation in a tax-free state."

http://www.collectionproof.com/FAQ.htm


Additionally, I've located another internet resource which promises
anonymous banking as part of their package of services. Once again,
you should verify to your own satisfaction the extent and veracity of
the information offered.

http://www.fathershelphotline.com/corporation.html

For assistance in your investigation, here are links to Nevada's
banking regulations and statutes:

NEVADA BANKING REGULATIONS
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NAC/CHAPTERS.HTMl
Scroll to listings beginning with NAC-657 about 3/4 of the way down
the page.

NEVADA BANKING STATUTES
http://www.leg.state.nv.us/NRS/
(Scroll to Title 55 and 56)

**********

You have specifically requested information about U.S. resources.
Research revealed a number of offshore possibilities as well. I'll
list one offshore link, which promises complete banking privacy, and
provide several directory links to numerous offshore banking listings.

WWW.Ca$hPrivacy.com offers customers the ability to "Order numbered
ATM card accounts and in no case there will be trail carrying your
name - neither when funding this account nor when withdrawing cash, no
signatures, no names, no problems."

You may obtain additional information by visiting:
http://www.cashprivacy.com/cards/anonymous/atm/cash/cirrus/products.htm

Internet Directory Listings of offshore financial services:

http://dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Shopping_and_Services/Financial_Services/Investment_Services/Financial_Planners/Asset_Protection/Offshore_Services/
http://directory.google.com/Top/Business/Financial_Services/Offshore_Services/
http://www.business.com/directory/financial_services/asset_management/asset_protection/

I hope you find these resources useful in your pursuit of anonymous
banking. Thank you for using Google Answers.

~larre-ga

---

Clarification of Answer by larre-ga on 31 May 2002 10:54 PDT

I'll be glad to provide a summary and clarification of my answer.

The only publicized, legitimate technique I was able to locate for you
(within the narrow purview of anonymous banking) is advertised online
by the web resources listed, Nevada Corporate Headquarters, Inc. and
CollectionProof.com.  Most simply stated, the technique requires:

1. Forming a Nevada corporation
2. Opening a corporate bank account using a signor, who is an agent
who performs banking services for you, and is the authorized signer on
what is otherwise a standard corporate bank account.

Nevada is the only U.S. state whose privacy and disclosure laws offer
this type of completely anonymous banking arrangement. The information
offered by both companies listed indicates that they perform services
as agents to assist you in forming a Nevada Corporation and opening a
corporate bank account.

Additional organizations which advertise as Registered Agents do not
specifically mention signor services within the State of Nevada. I
have further located the following websites which advertise
incorporation and signor services within Nevada:

Asset Protection Consulting Group, Inc.
http://www.apcg.net/
http://www.apcg.net/company_profile/APCGProfile2_2.pdf

Poor MillionaireTM Support Service
http://www.assetprotection.ws/nevadaInstructions.htm

I agree that some of the websites of businesses who offer such
services do not necessarily inspire my trust either, which is of
course, why I included cautions about verification of information.
These are the sites available that are locatable by the keywords
directly related to "anonymous banking" or signor services Nevada.
They do outline what is a verifiably legitimate method for
establishing a bank account which doesn't require your signature.

Due to Google Answers Terms of Service, I am prohibited from seeking
or reporting information about possible related fields or activities
which might be unlawful. Your question, as asked, is certainly a
legitimate query for information, and I've tried to present as much
data and information as is available.  Neither I, nor Google Answers
have any control over information or presentation contained on 3rd
party websites. The process of verification is called due diligence,
and though I can act as your research agent, I can only state that the
services appear to be legitimate. My investigation or statement of
legitimacy does not have any legal authority, whatsoever. Due
diligence is a legal term (borrowed from the securities industry, that
means, essentially, to make sure that all the facts are available and
have been independently verified. It's a step in the process which you
must perform for yourself, or engage a qualified financial or legal
professional to do so for you.

Here's a link to a listing of banks solely incorporated in Nevada. You
might try contacting them individually to learn more about their
banking services, receive recommendations of agents and information
about their banking privacy.

http://dmoz.org/Business/Financial_Services/Banking_Services/Banks_and_Institutions/Regional/North_America/United_States/Nevada/

**********

To aid you in your investigation, I have checked the whois records for
the websites I've resourced, and tried to locate additional
information for you based upon the results.

CollectionProof.com is registered to:

Daniel Enright
Black & White Consulting
Naples, Florida 34119
United States

Registrar is GoDaddy at http://www.godaddy.com

A search of Naples, Florida White and Yellow Pages yields no
additional information. The Better Business Bureau of Clearwater, FL
database has no reports or complaints available, either by business or
individual names.

nchinc.com is registered to:

Nevada Corporate Headquarters, Inc.
5300 West Sahara Ave.
Las Vegas, NV 89102
(702) 873-3488 (FAX) (702) 873-3471

Registrar is Verisign, http://www.netsol.com

Nevada Corporate Headquarters is listed in the Las Vegas White Pages
at the same address. The business was established in 1992, and has
been a member of the Southern Nevada Better Business Bureau since
1997. The BBB database currently shows no complaint records.

The BBB listing provides the following information:

Nevada Corporate Headquarters, Inc.

Street Address:    101 Convention Center Dr. #700,  Las Vegas, NV
89109
Telephone Number:    (702) 873-3488 
Email Address:    info@nchinc.com 
Web Address:    www.nchinc.com 
Member of the BBB Since:    Sep-1997 
Participates in the BBB's:    BBB Customer Care Program 
Type of Company:    Corporation 
BBB Business Classification:    Financial Services 
 
Original Business Started in:    Jan-1992 
Local Business Started in:    Jan-1992 
BBB Opened File in:    Sep-1997 
Principal Contact:    Mr. Terry Novack Vice President Operations
Principal Customer Contact:    Mr. John Olive Director Government
Affairs

http://www.vegasbbb.org/report.html?compid=53419

apcg.net:

Registrar is Domain Discover  at http://www.domaindiscover.com

Registrant:
   Asset Protection Consulting Group
   774 Mays Blvd. #10-474
   Incline Village, NV 89451
   US

   Domain Name: APCG.NET

   Administrative Contact, Technical Contact, Zone Contact:
      Asset Protection Consulting Group
      J. Smith
      774 Mays Blvd. #10-474
      Incline Village, NV 89451
      US
      775-832-6597
      naisho@hushmail.com

A search of the Northern Nevada Better Business Bureau and national
Better Business Bureau databases reveal no membership, complaint, or
report information.

assetprotection.ws

Registrar unknown

Welcome to the .WS Whois Server

Use of this service for any purpose other 
than determining the availability of a domain 
in the .WS TLD to be registered is strictly 
prohibited.

  Domain Name: ASSETPROTECTION.WS

  Registrant: Kent Bickmore

  Domain created on 2002-02-07 15:28:06
  Domain last updated on 2002-03-08 15:15:28

Due to the scarcity of information contained in the domain record, I
have been unable to locate any further information, reports or
complaints regarding assetprotection.ws.

**********

I'm sorry that we've been so far unable to offer you the degree of
specific knowledge you're seeking. Our Terms
of Service describe our services as Non-professional Advice:

"Information provided via the Services is not intended to substitute
for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax,
legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. If you
submit a question or comment on such a topic, we will assume you are
interested in soliciting and receiving or giving general information
rather than professional advice. You should bear in mind that the
applicability of such general information might vary substantially in
different states and according to the individual factual circumstances
surrounding a particular question or comment. Accordingly, if you
desire or require professional advice, please consult a qualified
provider who is licensed in your state or country."

If I can provide additional clarification of this research
information, please feel free to ask.

~larre-ga

This is a temporary rating that might be changed when I have a chance
to explore some of the resources mentioned.

While I appreciate the amount of content, most of it is of a very
general nature that requires a good deal of further research. The
difficulty of much of that research is determining what is true and
what isn't. For example, the sources mentioned say that ownership of
Nevada corporations is private. I have talked to a highly recommended
legal assistant (http://biz-usa.com/) IN NEVADA
who says just the opposite. It's NOT in her business interest to say
that. So whom are you going to believe? That's one of the big problems
with this question.

Some of the resources look OK in terms of credibility - at best.
That's really not good enough. I'm looking for a resource that
INSPIRES trust. Several of the web sites look like amateur hour.

I'm doing research myself. One comment suggested that I buy
HowToBeInvisible. I have already ordered that and a couple of other
books.

I am looking more for a specific technique that will allow me to do
what I want rather than general resources. However, if a resource
allows me to accomplish what I want, I will gladly pay the person who
turned me on to the resource.

Your best solution may be to open the firm and its bank account in an
off-shore location. There ar several such locations.

I read an excellent book on this topic.  It deals with the creation of
LLCs, and goes beyond financial privacy.  The book is entitled "How to
be Invisible" and they have a web site you may find useful.

http://www.howtobeinvisible.com/

Given the events of 9/11 and the "Patriot Act" offshore banking may
not be your best bet.  These accounts have come under increased
scrutiny, including audits of Visa and MasterCard accounts from tax
haven bank accounts.  You may do better with a US Bank Account opened
by a nominee.  Privacy is difficult to come by these days, but,
important... its a shame that privacy sometimes is associated with
criminal activity.  For me, privacy is a desire to avoid frivolous
lawsuits and to avoid identity theft.  I'm sure you have good reasons
as well.

Good luck and be safe.

Hello, Seeker --

Probably the easiest (and most straightforward) method of opening a
bank account for your LLC would be to use the name of your *registered
agent* on the account. (Your registered agent might be your CPA or
attorney.)

My understanding is that all states require listing a registered agent
(somebody to whom official paperwork can be delivered) in order to
incorporate, and the IRS certainly would not have issued an EIN for
the corporation without the name of the owner or a trustor (line 7a,
form SS-4, http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/fss4.pdf ).

Your only sticking point is that that person would need to provide
identification for the bank. It's all about the taxes for most
financial institutions -- not really about privacy.

You might also want to check out the online banks such as E*Trade.
They don't have a business account application online, but you could
call them at 1-800-ETBANK-1 and inquire as to whether they will
establish an account with just the corporate name and EIN.

Either way, *somebody's* name must be on the account -- if only as a
signatory.

Good luck!
Captvatng1

If you just want privacy, the NV route might work. But it involves
a great deal of trust....  after all, if someone takes your money
and runs, your complaints would sound both silly and suspicious
to the authorities.

The overseas route doensn't necessarily give you privacy, because
you are required to report all foreign bank accounts over $10,000 on
a US treasury form.  This leaves a paper trail that could be
investigated. Although a recent study showed many people to be in
non-compliance,
the potential fines are large. There is a recession brewing and the
government
may decide it needs the money... get the idea?

If, instead, you want to be lawsuit-proof or hide some money from a
creditor or ex-spouse, beware - it isn't really this simple. Go read
www.quatloos.com
-- basically a judge could just ignore the whole scheme and order you
to pay
up or be in contempt of court.

Depending on how you are generating the money, you may also consider
generating the money offshore and having it deposited directly in an
offshore bank account. This would completely bypass the USA and thus
many laws/regulations you may have, as your income is generated
overseas.

One of the offshore web hosting companies you might consider (if your
business is a website) is http://www.zentek-international.com/. They
provide offshore web hosting, dedicated servers, and offshore
colocation. Putting your server offshore means your income is
generated overseas, which may even help you in regards to tax issues
and jurisdiction. Then having the income generated from the offshore
website deposited in an offshore bank account.

Hope that helps you in another aspect of going offshore!