Beirut, November 17, 2014: All-inclusive offshore solutions provider ‘Lebanon Offshore’ and auditing and consulting firm ‘Majzoub& Partners CPAs-Nexia International’ organized a conference titled “Why is it sodifficult for Lebanese offshore companies to open a bank account in Lebanon?”on November 14, 2014 in Badaro, Beirut.
Attended by a remarkable number of ‘Lebanon Offshore’ clients, the conference discussed, as well as further examined the obstacleswhich Lebanese offshore companies face when opening bank accounts in Lebanon especially that Lebanese offshore companies are joint stock companies and should be treated as so by banks.
Present at the intervention, MeMichel Ghanem, Partner at Khalaf Law Firm explained, “While some banks in Lebanon refuse to open bank accounts for offshore companies, their restrictions are a result of internal decisions taken by the management and not according to the laws or circulars of the Central Bank of Lebanon.”
MeGhanem further clarified that some of the factors causing banks to take this decision include their difficulty to control the origin of the money, as offshore companies conduct their activitiesabroad. Offshore bank accounts also tend not to be profitable enough as their main operations are simple transactions with thin profit margins, and thus,do not require loans or letters of credit.
Mr. MosbahMajzoub, Managing Partner atMajzoub& Partners CPAs-Nexia International, also commented on the manner, saying, “Conservatism, a requirementfor all financial institutions in Lebanon, is not justified in the case of opening bank accounts for offshore companies. Although fiscal evasion could be done through both onshore andoffshore companies, the use ofan onshore company in this case is certainly easier for doubtful operations, as this may give more legitimacy to illegal operations. ”