The main objective of a having a nominee director is to prevent the general public from knowing that a direct relationship actually exists between the beneficial owner and his offshore company. Employing a nominee director or a nominee manager for an offshore company helps to offset potential implications that the beneficial owner is closely involved in the control and operation of the particular offshore company (the “management and control” concept). So, in essence, the main purpose of the nominee director is to facilitate the confidentiality of the client.
The nominee director may perform various administrative functions which otherwise would have to be performed by somebody directly related to the company. The actual involvement of the nominee Director in the day-to-day matters of the offshore company may vary in accordance with the necessities, wishes and circumstances of the client. Generally, the more involvement is required from the nominee, the more expensive it turns out for the owner of the offshore company. Quite often (but not always), the involvement of the nominee remains, true to the name, nominal. In such case all practical functions of the day-to-day management of the company would be routinely carried out by the client himself, acting as a “representative” of the company on grounds of a power of attorney. For more information on this important topic, please see the Company Management chapter of our site.
