Put That In Your PIF And Smoke It

Your Private Interest Foundation (PIF) might not be as bullet-proof as you were lead to believe. I've been asking questions about the value and structure of the PIF in light of the recent lawsuit between HSBC and Peter Gordon. The general belief is that the PIF offers protection from lawsuits and I've had lawyers tell me "they can't do that" and "it's illegal, it will never stand" with regards to the HSBC action. For the record with regards that specific case I'm going to wait to see what the Supreme Court decides because, you know, that's their job. But in the meantime I think it's worth the wander to figure out what the real deal is with regards to just how water-tight is the PIF. In fact, they routinely get busted wide-open in cases of drug smuggling, terrorism, weapons smuggling, and money laundering. And, in cases where crimes have been committed in Panama then there are legal resources available to penetrate what is really little more than a screen of privacy. There is no requirement to put your name in the Public Registry as being associated with the PIF, and what happens inside the PIF is considered to be private. But as soon as someone figures out where all your assets are held then they can go after it in civil cases. In other words, the legal protection offered by a PIF is no where near as tough as some lawyers would make you believe. More coming on this issue.