All in

2. PANAMA

The ocean, tankers passing by and a small island made a really breath-taking view from the 34th floor window of the Marriott Hotel. The hotel itself is also legendary - it is designed in the form of a sail of a wind-blown yacht and is also called the old Trump Tower. It is located in the heart of the financial city of Panama, surrounded by many other skyscrapers.

Edwin while observing this beauty was also thinking about sailing right now, because a meeting with the local lawyer had been arranged on a yacht, at the pier down below. Although the local law firm was only a 5-minute drive away, the two also agreed on enjoying a warm evening as Edwin was in Panama for the first time. Jacob Trade was previously founded by Edwin's colleague, who had suddenly disappeared. People say that he and his girlfriend have moved to the Cayman.

But now the stakes were much higher than when Jacob Trade was founded, as the offshore world had changed after the famous Panama papers leak, the Laundromat movie, and global anti-offshore activities. Even in Panama, it was no longer possible to speak of complete discretion. Therefore, a special care had to be taken now. On the other hand, there was not too much stress, while the Latvian tax authorities could not or did not want to follow what was happening outside its borders. So, Edwin knew that for at least a few more years their business structures would operate without any particular problems.

Edwin met the lawyer in the lobby of the hotel, at the centre of which there was a large, rather hardly understandable statue, where a man was half-lying with his ankles chained to the floor.

"Buenas tardes", his lawyer approached Edwin with an outstretched hand and a wide smile. With his firm body and dressed casual, having well sunbathed and rested, he looked more like a movie actor.

After a few kindly phrases about Edwin's trip to Panama and the first impressions, they soon both sat on a nearby yacht, with a notable name My Star. Edwin recalled that the Latvian most successful band Brainstorm played a song with the same name at the Eurovision song contest. That could be a good sign.

Edwin explained his lawyer that being a private banker in Riga he has a wealthy but unusually demanding client. On one hand it was business as usual - it was necessary to place the accumulated funds of Jacobs Trade. The client also would like to create a new structure in order to get funds from Russia through the Latvian bank to an offshore, which could eventually be invested in real estate in Spain. In order to walk away from the radar of the Russian tax authorities, this client has now moved, at least on paper, to a permanent residence in the Latvian seaside city Jurmala.

"That was a typical move for Russians for historical reasons as it was one of the top destinations for them also during the Soviet times when travels abroad were rarely permitted. Nowadays the appeal of Jurmala was not only sandy beaches like in California, but the climate was not that hot like in Spain, the nearby Riga offers plenty of cultural events and is well known for its Michelin quality and variety dining possibilities. Latvia is not only the most Russian speaking community in the EU, but also its residence permits allow travelling without any visa throughout the whole Schengen territory." Edwin briefly described the reasons why even in Panama this kind of setup was not a rarity anymore.

"But we need to act quickly," Edwin expressed his concerns and at the same time tried to move away from the possible topic of origin of the flow. He suspected that the client's money was in fact related to Magnitsky's affair. This affair was famous for allegations that a tax lawyer Magnitsky had discovered a tax fraud in Russia with an involvement of employees of the tax administration, and reported it .. to the higher authorities. However, instead of attacking the fraudsters, Magnitsky was imprisoned himself and died there in mysterious circumstances. Since then a few hundred million of the scammers' money from Russia float around the world.

The lawyer explained to Edwin that it is best to set up the new Panama business under another offshore trust. This will keep the structure's true beneficiary a secret, at least for a while, as tax laws regarding offshores are changing quickly almost everywhere . It is best to open an account with a Maldivian bank, as it does not, at least for the time being, cooperate in a system in which banks share information. The bank will also issue a credit card, but it should not be used in Russia or Latvia for any spending, to be on the safe side. This did not worry the customer, as he was seldom actually present in these countries. The lawyer reassured Edwin that he will take a good care of everything. So, that was done, Edwin felt relief.