#727 – The Expat Files: Navigating Legal, Financial, and Asset Challenges in Latin America

Automatically transcribed from the original recording; names and wording may contain errors.

[00:00] South of the border down Mexico way That's where I fell in love when the stars above came up to play and now as I wonder Hello there all you expat wannabes I'm Johnny Mueller and you're listening to the expat files living in Latin America the show that tells you just what it's like to live Work play and or retire down here in Latin America It's a mix of the good the bad the ugly and the great and it's all right here. So let's get started All right, you know one of the very hot topics at my expat insider seminar just a week or so ago Was the question of how to get your money as an asset side of the US down to a Latin American country Well, let's not talk about your ass because you'll have to deal with that yourself

[00:48] You know TSA latex kit gloves and all that man. I'm so glad I don't live there anymore Anyway, people were asking all the time. How do you get your money and your assets down? That is without raising a lot of red flags with the US government and its agencies and getting out a bunch of lists Hey, don't you know you're on a ton of lists already, but as far as getting your money out safely Well, that can be accomplished. Of course, it's done all the time But restrictions are being piled on every day it seems still there are options while they last Alright, so we'll talk about that. And then there were some people who pulled me aside and said Johnny You know, how can I get my assets and my money out of the US to a Latin country? anonymously or kind of anonymously if there is such a thing as kind of anonymously

[01:37] I guess that's like someone saying I'm kind of hungry. So what is it you hungry or not? Hmm anonymous movement of your assets out of the first world down to a Latin country Well, that all depends what your assets might be if for example shipping down household items. That's an asset, right? You'll be shipping a container maybe or a lot of boxes so far No restrictions on that stuff unless of course you're shipping down guns or explosives That's not gonna go though. If you own guns personally, you can ship them down to most Latin countries Except get this Mexico a few others too. Isn't that funny? There are more the gun restrictions the more crime and disorder, huh? Seems like in Mexico. Everyone's got guns, but the good guys. Yep. That's how it works when you've got strict gun control

[02:23] I know I'm from, Illinois Chicago's got the strictest gun control laws in the country the So I repeat I'm so glad I don't live up there anymore Anyway, as mentioned you can ship your personal guns to most Latin American countries gotta do that through your lawyer, of course But then again, I know people who have tried and it's a whole hell of a lot of mess at the Adwana That would be customs though. You'll get them eventually it'll cost you about the value of your guns to get them down So my advice buy your guns down here You'll pay twice the price too because that's how they gouge with nearly a hundred percent taxes, but you can still buy them So what's the point of shipping them down when you're gonna pay for your gun again in a Duana and tax fees? So my advice again unless you have a very special gun, you know one that was used by Wyatt Earp or your grandpa

[03:13] It gave you a 12 gauge shotgun when you were nine The one that he got from his grandpa who got it from his grandpa who shot a red coat or two in the Revolutionary War Well, then if it's a personal keepsake item ship, it's on but just remember it's gonna get stuck in customs for a while There'll be a lot of paperwork and you're gonna pay what the guns worth in taxes However as for antiques since there's not much of an antique market down here in Latin America at all Although there are lots of antiques They're not valued as such if you want to bring some antique keepsakes down No one will be checking the blue book on it It'll probably just slip through as old furniture or old guns and again, I repeat never try to do it yourself You'll need a lawyer and he'll hook you up with a customs broker to do that Bottom line in the instances that I know of where people tried to ship down their load of personal guns

[04:03] There always been some headaches and some hair pulling but they got through again If you're gonna have guns and you got the right I am down here And of course every Latin country even the ones where guns are heavily restricted like Mexico They have gun clubs and shooting ranges and galleries where you can practice and hang with like-minded Cowboys pilgrim matter of fact not so long ago I put together a 10-page report called guns ammo knives and machetes in Latin America But unfortunately, it's only included in a packet that I give out to the people that come to my expat Insider's seminar, maybe someday. I'll have a membership site now have it available for members at the new expat.com But as for now not available own it's very inclusive and tells everything you really wanted to know about owning and buying and using

[04:51] Guns knives and ammo here in Latin America What a tease, huh? Where were we? Oh, yeah talking about how to get your money and your assets here to Latin America Well, normally you see you've been down here a time or two You've hooked up to the lawyer you got yourself a bank account If you got one in your name whatever money you want to send down just why you're transfer it directly down to your Latin bank Of course with the fat guy get to know your customer laws. I rest will be immediately Notified that you have a bank account as soon as you open because that's just the way the laws are all over the world now So whatever movement you have in that bank, you know deposits and withdrawals will be reported to the IRS every year So they'll know exactly what you got worse yet If you have a bank account in Latin country, which you should have and the bank has a branch in the US

[05:42] Do you ever get in trouble up there? Let's say you didn't pay your alimony your school loans Whatever someone comes after you goes to court gets a judgment against you They can attach your bank account if there's a branch bank up in the States Which is always why we mentioned that you have some great alternatives many Latin banks have zero presence up in the States So even if all your bank accounts are locked up in the States in your hometown wherever They cannot put a judgment against you or lock up your Latin bank account if it's got no presence up in the States Oh, they can try but first I'll have to jump through a lot of special hoops So you can have a mother low down here in a bank with your own personal name on it And in order for anyone up in the States to attach that account that is lock it up. Whatever

[06:28] They'll need a judgment in a US court Then they'll have to send lawyers down to your Latin country They'll have to get Latin lawyers to translate all the documents They'll have to go to court in Latin America and man I'm telling you you're looking at a year anyway Just to get a hearing in court and Latin lawyers assure me by then your dough will be long gone That is it will have flown that coop with the help of your Latin lawyer However, you know, I've been down here a long long time and I know no instances Personally with that's ever happened. Oh, I've heard many instances where bank accounts have been locked up in the States But they never seem to be able to attach a judgment to one down here You'd have to be an extremely big fish and I don't know any Well, I do know a few big fish, but they've never had their accounts attached either

[07:13] That's because they're cautious about bank accounts and know that the US government can try all kinds of stuff to attach their accounts Around the world. So they open up accounts with SA corporations. That is corporate accounts that are absolutely bulletproof against foreign judgments I mean hell if you're in business up in the States, you're gonna expect to get sued once in a while It's a lawsuit crazy society you got up there Even solo physicians and tenants get sued probably once a year, man. Am I glad I live down here? Did I say that already? So if you're a really big high profile fish or have a lot of money It's worth it to open up an SA corporation and have that corporation open up a bank account now You can own it and everything but since it's in the corporate name No one i'm talking nobody can attach it even if it's all your dough sitting there

[08:01] However, that doesn't mean if you've got judgments going up in the States and they try to attach it That if you make a trip back to the States They won't grab you and throw you in the slam or at least put you in front of a judge Because you see what's legal down here in Latin America is not necessarily legal up in the States For example down here in Latin America insider trading is legal Prostitution is legal tax evasion. No, not legal. No one ever goes to jail for it And believe me everyone's a tax evader down here everyone also It's legal to give expensive gifts to politicians In fact, I know of a particular case where a transnational drug company, you know its name Actually bought a million dollar mansion for a sitting president You know just gave it to him as a gift

[08:48] Hmm out of the goodness of their venomous little hearts, of course, they don't want anything. No favors will ever be asked, right? Totally legal here in Latin America in the States You're supposed to go to prison for that unless you're a friend of the clintons Oh and another thing most tax crimes up in the States are not crimes here in Latin America Why because in almost all Latin American countries except now coming up Colombia and Argentina And I believe starting next year in Brazil You do not have to report or are you taxed on income from an outside country? However, us citizens have to report worldwide income or you're getting heavily fined or even going to jail That's why latin countries don't round up people who've been guilty of tax evasion or tax crimes up in the States because Those so-called offenses are not crimes here in Latin America

[09:35] And they'll only round up and prosecute and sometimes they won't even do that If the crime you committed up in the States and are charged with Is illegal and punishable with the same sentence as it is in latin country you're pursued in So the technicality even if you've been convicted of a felony in the States and it's only a misdemeanor here in latin America Your local latin government won't pursue you did I mention you have to be a big fish? And did I mention that they're really only going to pursue you if you've committed some despicable crime? Like child porn or human trafficking or murder However, I understand there's a get out of jail free card if you have donated to the clinton foundation, but I digress Oh, and here's another point. I've met some gringles who've gotten completely lost in latin America I mean they disappear, you know Some latin countries are huge and remember latin governments and police forces and such have no resources and no dough

[10:26] You might recall the story I mentioned not so long ago where a guy had his house robbed thinks it was A collusion between his cleaning latin gardener. He called the cops surprisingly enough They showed up within a couple hours filled out to report were sympathetic and all that and said they'd go round up the usual suspects But he'd have to chip in money for gas Kind of says it all doesn't it so then how do local authorities nab? Despicable gringos and expats who are hiding out in their country. Sometimes they never do, you know It's infrequent But every once in a while you read in the paper or see in the media that a gringo has been picked up for something Fact is the other day they picked up such a guy in ecuador guy who had committed grand larceny and extortion Ripped off and gouged millions from investors up in the states

[11:11] Well how'd they catch him through the borders? Of course as you fly in or go through the land borders If there's an inner pole worn out on the guy that's well They'll stop you and won't let you pass through They'll call local authorities and well if you're a corrupt slime bag on a grand scale like this guy was They figure it's worth it to pursue a guy like that I mean hell if he ripped them off for I think it was 168 million bucks He's a deep pocket and both corrupt slime bag governments the u.s And ecuador want a piece of that So they'll have a fine time in international court slicing this guy's assets up and it's true over the years Especially in my travels through the boonies and in small latin towns, of course way off the gringo tourist trail I've run into a few gringos who've gone native and I got the feeling they're running from some judgment up in the states

[12:01] And some of them have been running so long. They forgot what they're running from These are people whose passports expired or were blocked years ago, but they don't care They've got their family homestead kids here in latin america and whatever country and their standpoint in fact I've met at least three or four gulf war vets a wol from the 1990s So definitely they're never going back to the states because if they do they're going to be in a slammer Probably forever. The u.s military does not have a sense of humor about a wall vets But I digress man. Did I digress? So anyway, if you've got cash in the u.s bank transfer it down to bank account in your name or in an essay corporation name or If you're in a hurry or want to break the ties and remain somewhat anonymous There's that somewhat anonymous term again

[12:49] Anyway, then you'll send it through to your lawyer's trust transit or pass through account Because maybe if you're in a hurry you haven't set up a bank account or you're waiting for your residency to come through and then Get your account And some gringles and expats aren't sure what their permanent address or even country's going to be when they finally get down So they'll transfer some money down to their lawyer's account to have some cash They'll park it with him for a while a week a month half a year a year Who knows in a lot of cases expats come down looking for property houses, whatever And that could be the money they use to buy the land the house or built I know I know this is latin america and you're thinking what if a guy transferred fifty hundred two hundred thousand dollars to latin america into A latin american bank account not in their name in a lawyer's name who they've only met once or twice or maybe never met at all

[13:37] Yep, it's pretty scary, huh? Yeah. Well, you know, i'm not plugging my seminar here But people who do come to my expat insider seminar do get to meet an honest lawyer or two who i've known and vetted That's one of the huge advantages of coming to the seminar. In fact, i've had many people say johnny That's the number one advantage to come to your seminar Connecting with the law group that's got your seal of approval Yeah, because you know if I was still up in chicago and i'd never been down to latin america But I had a plan b If I was to send a substantial wire transfer all the way down to latin america to a bank account That wasn't in my name I'd sure as hell be probably more than slightly worried as my money went to that account Did it get there and once it got there? Is it gonna stay there when I go down? Am I gonna be able to get it out? Can I access that account online anywhere?

[14:25] Will it have a debit card on top of that? All the paperwork you signed was in spanish promises promises, huh? Man, if you read the blogs you'll hear all kinds of horror stories Most of them bad most of them out of gringo saturated countries like costa rica panama parts of columbia, etc Fact i'd say every gringo expat i know who's been down here more than five years been ripped off in some way or another Sometimes by fast talking latins scumbag gringo zen lawyers Sometimes all three are in on a scam because you know There's kind of this crazy ass thing that happens when you land in a third world lush tropical paradise Like expat eddie says it's the palm tree hammock and umbrella drink effect. It goes to your head You see all the latins with smiles on their faces the gringos with smiles, too

[15:11] Why not they're on vacation And suddenly it happens more often than not You let your guard down when it comes to investing and doling out money for this and that It's a fact when gringos are on vacation They always spend more than they planned which is why I always tell gringos and expats You're probably in the first couple years Anyway going to get gouged and it's not going to be a tiny gouge like the one you get from the guys selling your trinkets It'll be big enough that it hurts some land deal some business thing Some happy but shady gringo with the beach front deal of a century a local with a seemingly great idea with no skin in the game Because he's broke a property for sale that's been sold before maybe two or three times Hey, I've been through all that and why i'm very cautious now and why I only recommend people I know who are totally honest

[15:59] That's to say over the years. I've x communicated quite a few people from my inner and outer circle You know narrowed and pared it down. You got to do that, you know Funny though. I run into people all the time been down here three four five six months even a year And they're all of a sudden know-it-alls and man I'd say more than half of them have the word sucker printed on their forehead and they don't even know it So when I meet him socially or i'm sitting next to one at a car lot or whatever I let him ramble on experts that they are Thinking it's only a matter of time the clock's ticking on his gouge And when it happens, he'll be a little more humble He's not gonna be such a know-it-all anymore. It'll be a good lesson Like I expected he says sometimes you need a five or ten thousand dollar lesson to get the clueless gringo gene out of your system

[16:48] So what am I saying? I'm saying when you come down here, no matter how vigilant you are, you'll be scammed or gouged I know a lot of listeners are saying man. It's not gonna happen to me. I'm smarter than that Well in the eloquent words of daffy duck Fooey But anyway, we're talking about transferring your wealth and your dough down here to latin america Well, you know, there's always crypto and bitcoin bitcoin being the gold standard And that my friends is a very anonymous way to ship your money down and you're thinking well once I get down How do I connect up with the bitcoin crowd? Hey, we are the bitcoin crowd In fact, there is a very active bitcoin and crypto community in every latin country now. Yeah There are bitcoin beat up groups bitcoin atm's in certain cities

[17:38] Bitcoin kiosks where you can buy and sell bitcoin with cash or credit card So for example, say you're up in cleveland. You got 10 bitcoins. That's your mother lode. Hey as I record this today That's worth over a hundred grand, right? Well, you know unlike having money in the bank You don't have to do anything to get it down to latin country of your choice Because wherever you are on earth you jump on your smartphone or computer and guess what they're right there No bank or government middleman. It's the beauty of crypto and bitcoin So if you're in the cryptocurrency game Whether it's in a very small way or a very large way Man latin america is tuned in tell you one thing dealing with cryptos down Here's a lot more freer than it is up in the states You know, they're slapping rules and regulations on those exchanges all the time like coinbase and bid pay etc

[18:27] Those are us-based cryptocurrency exchanges, you know Naturally, the us government wants their piece of the action there. So they're coming down hard and heavy But for exchanges outside the us well things are mighty easy again. It's the penalty for being a us citizen, huh? By the way, I recommend everyone get familiar with cryptocurrency Get familiar with it because you're probably going to be using it in the near future That is the wave fiat money of all kinds is going the way of the dinosaur. You can see that can't you? That's not to say I don't like gold silver and the precious metals. Oh, I like them a lot But let me give you a little analogy. I'm 165 pounds. That's what I weighed when I graduated from high school Now let's say I had all my assets tied up in gold my weight in gold 165 pounds today's price slightly under 5 million bucks

[19:14] Hey just an analogy here. No way i'm worth a fraction of that dead or alive Now suppose I wanted to take that asset to Honduras because that's where i'm gonna set up my plan B Man, i'll tell you i'd have to jump through 165 hoops to get it down there probably could but it easily could cost you Who knows a couple hundred thousand bucks for shipping charges insurance taxes, adwana fees Legal fees not to mention probably a few bribes along the way. I mean, this is latin america, right? However, if you had the same amount a little under 5 million bucks in bitcoin or any other crypto You could fly from cleveland to honduras or managua. Nicaragua And guess what that 5 million bucks is there. All you need is a computer anybody's computer or a smartphone

[20:01] It's right there whenever you need it whenever you have to use it or move it around That's the beauty of cryptocurrency versus gold though. It's my opinion. You have to have a mix of both So you've got some cutting edge assets and some old school assets to back you up All right, then. So what if you want to bring some gold or silver down? Well You can ship it down people have done that. I know some people have But again, like I said, you got to pay shipping insurance get a lawyer involved. Hey, adwana fees probably a few bribes Yeah, you can do it. I've seen it done successfully some golden silver bullion houses will ship all over the world for a fee Of course Then it'll end up in your plan b destination countries adwana and you'll pay taxes and import duties The costs sometimes depending on what mood the customs officer is in that day

[20:51] Yep with gold fiat wire transfers. There's always a government jerk or bank intermediaries there to gouge And sometimes, you know, you'll kick in a bribe your lawyer won't call it a bribe He'll say, you know, I think for another 300 or 400 bucks. We could move this process along nicely Hey, I've been there So when that happens to you if you're the righteous type bite your lip get used to it Because if you make a fuss and claim it's not right it's illegal Well, then if you don't pay up it's gonna take twice as long and you know here in latin america They never call it a bribe while it's happening It's only after the fact when you're talking about it with people that you call it mordita or the bite the bribe While it's happening when you've been approached for some dough to move things along It's always like I said to move things along speed things up grease the wheels of progress. Yeah, right some progress, huh?

[21:44] All right We've been talking about bringing your gold and precious metals down which brings me to this little article someone just sent me this week Pay attention. This could affect you It's called crossing borders with golden silver coins a glimpse of things to come this article starts out It's well known that you have to make a declaration if you physically transport $10,000 or more in cash or monetary instruments in or out of the u.s Almost any other country that said gold has always been in something of a twilight zone in that regard It's no longer officially considered money So it's usually regarded as just a commodity like copper letters ink for these purposes The one ounce canadian may believe and us eagle for example both say they're worth 50

[22:31] Stamped right on them, but i've recently had some disturbing experience crossing borders with silver coins They weren't even gold what happened to me in three of my last four border crossings is a definite sad sign of the future I've gradually accumulated about a dozen one ounce silver rounds in my briefcase. I'm talking silver now for me There were one ounce souvenirs some from canada different countries australia china in the u.s Recently when I left chile the person monitoring the x-ray machine at the airport Stopped me and insisted I take out my coins and show them to her now I travel a great deal and this never happened to me before I wrote it off to chance this first time Then when I was leaving argentina a few weeks later the exact same thing happened

[23:21] What was really unusual was that the inspector looked at them took them back to his supervisor Then came back and asked if I had any gold coins to report I didn't that time he smiled and let me go on my way But what really got my attention was a few weeks later When I was leaving more tanya one of the world's most backward countries here I was questioned again about my silver coins a supervisor was called over once again and asked me whether I had any gold coins Clearly something was up now I talked to people about gold and other things and I haven't seen any official statements about the movement of gold coins through borders lately

[24:06] But it seems probable that governments are spreading the word to their inspector minions after all $10,000 of hundred dollar bills a stack about one inch wide hard to hide But even at currently depressed prices Ten grand is only eight gold canadian one ounce maple leaves a much smaller volume than ten grand in us 100 dollar bills and Immune to currency sniffing dogs and you know gold and precious metal coins unlike fiat funny money If they're set aside for years, they won't be damaged at all. Not by water fire insects or best of all Inflation in fact, if you're thinking like I do they're only going to increase in value Then the other says I have foreign bank accounts and brokerage accounts in foreign countries, too

[24:55] But the safety and freedom once offered by these methods is already disappearing Few people seem to be aware of the fact that not so long ago There was no limit to the amount of cash you could transfer in and out of the us even hand carry Across the border or that you didn't have to report the existence of an offshore bank or brokerage account at all Though you were on your honor to report the interest in gains on them as income Worse yet other restrictive laws have been passed in the us and other countries, too Banks are starting to notify customers and they did me that they're no longer responsible For the storage of cash gold or other precious metal instruments in their own safety deposit boxes So with some banks you can do it at your own risk and others prohibit you from doing it at all. That means they're

[25:47] Confiscatable that makes the phrase safety deposit box an oxymoron doesn't it? Then he says it gets worse. I was in new zealand a couple months ago I was taken aback to see that the suburban branch of a major bank was closing down all of its safety deposit box departments So what's next? I expect as the subtle war on both cash and the transfer of capital across border gains momentum Gold coins are going to become the next focus of attention. So I suggest you act now to beat the last-minute rush Number one have a significant number of those gold coins stored outside the country of your citizenship Concentrate your future purchases and small coins that are indistinguishable from loose change So you can carry them through borders with your fake us nickels quarters and dimes

[26:38] All right Meet john again By the way good old john gault used to carry gold coins in with his change as he passed through airport departure points Just threw him in the basket and they always got right through because they mix well By the way, you hear and read over and over again that gold is useless Gold is not money anymore gold is an archaic relic from the past you hear governments banks and media pundits Say that all the time. Well, then riddle me this Why do most all countries with a few obvious exceptions meant at least a few useless common coins with a gold brilliant chain on them When in europe asia or latin america check your pocket change you'll see Why is it necessary for them to fake it after all they're doing everything they can to discredit gold

[27:24] Yet they continually copy the look kind of like buying a soy burger with artificial cheese, huh? Hmm think about it This is the expat files living in latin america If you want me to help you out with your own plan b just schedule a one-on-one consult Send me an email at the expat files at gmail.com And if you want to learn how to move forward with your own plan b from right up there in the states go to www.expatplanb.com and check out my three videos. See ya nos vemos