We offer additional services in a number of areas where clients may require our assistance. Over time, several have come to trust us to deal with virtually any situation, whether it’s a straightforward everyday issue or a more complex and challenging problem.

There are many areas in which we can help.

Private equity

A client may express an interest in making a personal investment in a particular business venture. We have assisted clients in a variety of transactions, ranging from a nursery to a nightclub. In such cases, we can conduct due diligence on our clients’ behalf and provide a thorough analysis of the investment opportunity and its business viability.

Our regulated partners will provide any required advice on the equity structure, or any other regulated activity.

Asset protection/tax structuring

In a world where tax regimes vary enormously and tax laws change frequently, clients can benefit from a considered and flexible tax-structuring strategy.

Once we understand the to achieve the objectives of our clients, we will work with expert professionals from multiple jurisdictions to put together tax-structuring plans, which may include advice regarding setting up trusts, and the transfer of assets in order to reduce tax liabilities.

We are not tax advisers but have extensive experience of working with various combinations, to achieve a wide range of objectives, such as, family assets may need protection from attacks by business partners, family members or even local governments.

In many cases, we can assist with the choice of jurisdictions and structures that are more robust in resisting pressure from third parties.

Immigration/citizenship

If clients are moving their place of residence, permanently or temporarily, we will help to identify and negotiate the multiple legal procedures involved.

Each immigration process (UK, Dubai, Monaco) has its own requirements, such as conscription liability in Russia or Israel, and each combination (i.e. a Russian national taking a Dubai Investor visa) has its own set of implications, dependent on the relationship between the two countries, and particularly their tax systems.

We have deep knowledge and experience of many of these combinations, and thus can guide our clients to the appropriate countries to apply to.

This often includes applying for investor visas or for a second citizenship of the UK or elsewhere in Europe, to provide a useful level of international protection.

We have also assisted several clients in obtaining European passports by joining the Malta economic investment scheme while helping others to acquire Dubai residency, with its associated tax benefits.

We have also completed applications for 6 St Kitts passports, 4 Hungarian passports, 15 Cypriot passports and more then 20 British Investor visas, which over the next 2 years will convert to British passports (with 100 percent success rate).

Reputation management

High-net-worth individuals are often high profile and this can create problems in a world where a single malicious rumour on the internet can do enormous damage to a reputation. Negative publicity can also have serious practical consequences for a client’s business activities.

We are ready to help defend clients’ reputations against such attacks, whenever they occur. For one client, we were able to take legal action to prevent a national newspaper from publishing unfounded allegations that would have caused him serious reputational and financial damage.

We also take a proactive role, working with PR professionals to help clients build a positive reputation that will counter, or at least neutralise, negative press.

Crisis management

This covers a wide range of potentially difficult situations that often demand great sensitivity and particular specialist skills.

To date, the range of our activities has included defending a client who was falsely accused of wrongdoing by a foreign government, temporary management for a troubled business while the client found a more permanent solution, helping out a family member who got themselves into legal issues in a foreign jurisdiction, and arranging urgent medical attention for a family member.

Banking relationships

London Wall take all our AML requirements very seriously, and James Ramsden QC is on permanent retainer to advise London Wall and our clients on all related matters.

Opening and running a bank account is not as easy as it once was. The compliance process can be a minefield and banks have been known to close down customers’ accounts for no apparent reason.

Given the sensitivity that banks now have towards wealthy individuals, we carry out pre-emptive KYC, source of funds and security audits for clients, prior to applying for banking facilities. This can ensure that any questions the bank is likely to raise about the sources of their wealth can be satisfactorily answered.

We have excellent contacts within the banking industry and can introduce clients to banks with experience of the demands of high-net-worth individuals.

We assist clients in responding to the banks’ compliance, KYC and source of funds requirements, ensuring that the necessary documentation is fully and properly completed.

We have extensive experience of opening overseas bank accounts, and advising clients on the best jurisdictions in which to bank.

Other services

We also help clients in a whole range of situations, from organising conferences, business trips and family events to selecting schools and colleges.