About Swiss Caribbean Trust

Swiss Caribbean Trust, Ltd. (SCT) was established to meet the unique needs and demands of high net worth U.S. and European citizens who seek prudent, 100% compliant trust services in a jurisdiction that has regulation and control by a major world financial center.

Swiss Caribbean Trust is domiciled in Anguilla, BWI, a British Overseas Territory. Since 1650, Anguilla has been governed by the United Kingdom with various forms and levels of autonomy in domestic affairs. The United Kingdom is responsible for external affairs and appoints the Governor who is responsible for the regulation of international financial services, the police force, civil service and general good governance of the jurisdiction.

Sophisticated investors seek trust services for a variety of reasons including, but not limited to, asset protection, estate planning, and tax reduction.

The laws of Anguilla will protect the trust regardless of the laws of any other jurisdiction, thus providing virtually bulletproof asset protection. Anguilla has taken appropriate steps in legislation to prohibit any action from a foreign jurisdiction in attempting to infiltrate a SCT Anguillan Trust. In addition the trust property is protected from:

  • The claims of creditors in an insolvency or judgment;
  • The imposition of any foreign tax or duty; 
  • The personal and proprietary consequences of marriage or the termination of marriage;
  • Succession rights (whether testate or intestate) including fixed shares of spouses or relatives. 

In addition, Anguillan trust legislation shifts the burden of proof of fraudulent transfer from the debtor to the creditor. Actions to set aside an alleged fraudulent transfer must be commenced in the Anguilla High Court within three years of the date that the assets were settled in the trust.

The need for asset protection, especially for the U.S. citizen, has never been greater. The media is full of stories about staggering jury awards that are based on the most frivolous of lawsuits. Everyone is a potential target. Incomprehensible jury awards are destroying medical practices, wiping out businesses and costing the world’s economy billions of dollars. The trend only appears to be growing worse. Anyone who has built a financial nest egg for retirement and for his or her family's financial security could be targeted.

People worldwide, while seeking to protect their assets from devastating judgments, also seek to transfer wealth to their heirs without paying confiscatory taxes, hiring costly lawyers, or losing control of their estate to the courts. SCT provides all these services while maintaining a high level of confidentiality.

Legal, tax-advantaged international structures were once so expensive to set up that only multi-national corporations and the wealthiest individuals were able to take advantage of this strategy. New technologies and progressive legislation have now placed these structures within reach of successful professionals and business owners. 

Swiss Caribbean Trust Provides:

  • Asset Protection and Custodial Trusts;
  • Formation of International Business Companies and Limited Liability Companies;
  • Investment Advisory Services;
  • Mutual Fund Investment Programs;
  • Financial Privacy.

Utilizing reputable international banks that have no U.S. presence, SCT ensures maximum protection and privacy for assets under management. These banking relations also facilitate same-day transfers providing maximum efficiency in the crediting of the client’s account.

Your independent advisor may work with the SCT staff in recommending prudent investments that meet your goals and objectives.

Anti-Money Laundering and Know your Customer regulations and requirements are a necessary part of doing business in the world today. SCT has developed detailed and stringent policies and procedures to assure that all regulations are followed. In addition, SCT conducts ongoing staff training programs and has implemented internal audit functions to ensure all business is conducted in a manner that is fully U.S. Treasury Department and IRC compliant.

SCT has assembled a world-class executive team of tax attorneys, corporate attorneys, tax accountants, international bankers, trust officers, and international specialists. Our professional advisors will custom design a strategy to fit your needs, both now and in the future. SCT will use every effort to provide an affordable, legal, compliant, asset protected and tax advantaged structure for you and your family. With our staff’s impeccable track record for integrity and honesty, we provide the highest degree of confidentiality, anonymity and asset protection.

SCT's Managing Director is a trained litigator, admitted to practice in the United States as well as internationally. He has successfully defended trusts in foreign courts on behalf of clients in need of protection. As his profile attests, he is well qualified to advise on matters of asset protection, confidentiality and tax law. As an SCT client, you will have far greater access to the Managing Director of the Trustee than you would to a domestic trustee. By making a commitment to extraordinary customer service, SCT has made certain that its staff is readily accessible. This accessibility allows clients to convey their preferences, express their concerns, and have their questions answered.

Anguilla, British West Indies

Anguilla is a British Overseas Territory and is an island nation that forms part of the British West Indies.

Anguilla was first settled by the British in 1650 and, since that time, has been governed solely by the United Kingdom with various forms and levels of autonomy in domestic affairs. The United Kingdom is responsible for external affairs and appoints the Governor who is responsible for the regulation of international financial services, the police force, civil service and general good governance of the jurisdiction.

Anguilla has long been highly regarded as an international financial center, striving to be a leader in "Anti-Money Laundering" and "Know Your Customer" compliance and has cooperated fully with the Financial Action Task Force.

There are no taxes on savings and investments and there is no sales tax, income tax, profits tax, capital gains tax, or inheritance tax on its citizens or corporations. Anguilla’s state-of-the-art, online service registration network, known as ACORN, is the centerpiece of its financial services industry. This truly zero-tax jurisdiction, with its reputation as a well-regulated pro-business economy, makes Anguilla beyond doubt: “Better for Business.”

The official currency is the Eastern Caribbean dollar, but the U.S. dollar is widely accepted. There are no foreign exchange restrictions.

Anguilla is an island with a tourism-based economy. The island can boast of its worldclass hotels and gourmet restaurants.

Anguilla Trust Ordinance

The Trust Ordinance, which is a derivation in English trust law, provides a structure so accommodating that it is virtually limitless in its utilization for asset protection.

The Ordinance provides for a protector of the trust (who may be the trustee). The protector may be provided with the power to remove the trustee and to appoint new or additional trustees.

The Fraudulent Dispositions Ordinance provides that a fraudulent disposition (fraudulent conveyance) can void a trust only if the creditor can provide proof that the settlor was insolvent at the time of the disposition or became so as a result of the transfer. The creditor must commence all claims for fraudulent disposition or conveyance within three years of the date that the assets were settled into trust. The burden of proving that the settlor was or became insolvent as a result of the transfer is on the creditor.

In relation to asset protection trusts, Anguilla has deliberately taken a more conservative approach than some jurisdictions.

Where a trust is created under the laws of Anguilla, the Court shall not change it, set it aside or recognize the validity of any claim against the trust property pursuant to the law of another jurisdiction or the Order of another Court in respect to:

  • Marriage or its termination;
  • Succession rights;
  • The claims of creditors in an insolvency;
  • The imposition of any foreign tax or duty.

Other characteristics of an Anguillan trust include choice of governing law and flight provisions.

The SCT Asset Protection Trust (APT) is inherently a more protective trust and can provide major advantages over a U.S. domestic trust. Unlike a U.S. domestic trust, an APT formed by SCT can maintain control of present and future ownership and provide estate tax and probate cost savings. Perhaps the most important difference between an SCT trust and a U.S. Domestic Asset Protection Trust is that Anguillan laws allow the grantor/settlor to be a discretionary beneficiary of the trust (self-settled trust) without losing the ability to protect the trust assets. Although a few U.S. states have recently amended their trust statutes to allow self-settled trusts, there is little or no case law to support the U.S. Domestic Asset Protection Trust.