Getting help with the deposit with cash sent from abroad

castillo666

I wasn't really sure where to put it as it is for a deposit, I started here, sorry it there's a more suitable thread!

Hi all,
I wonder if you could help me. I am planning in buying a house and my in laws will be helping us with the deposit and beyond. Trouble is, they live outside the EU (South America) and it will be a mixture of cash and some other means still to be device (or just cash if we can get away with it).
The sum will be in the area of the £50,000 and I wanted to know what is the best way to bring the money into the country without getting into too much trouble and how to incorporate the cash they may bring too, into the banking system without anyone assuming we are in the money laundry business!
Can you help please?
Thanks!

princeofpounds

I don't know about legal issues, but for that sort of sum it's probably worth looking at an FX broker rather than letting your bank do the transfer as the rates are likely to be better.

martindow

I assume what is behind this is trying to avoid some tax or other when sending money out of S America. Solicitors and UK banks I am sure are under an obligation to be sure that money is not being laundered so will want to know exactly where it has come from.

Please don't take this wrongly, but if this money can not simply be sent from a local bank to a UK bank it is money laundering!

chappers

failing that you could stick in a shipment of ornaments from columbia and send it via jamaica to avoid suspicion

castillo666

princeofpounds, thanks for the tip, I will explore the option.

martindow, probably I didn't express myself correctly when I wrote the question. What I am trying to do here is explore the different possibilities for entering money into the country (always within the law) and as princpeofpounds kindly advice, there is more than one. Is not only about “dodging taxes” as you hinted but the different ways of doing it. Apologies for not knowing, that’s why I’m humbly asking.
I thought we were in a money saving forum! Does that includes tax too? J

martindow

castillo666 wrote: »

martindow, probably I didn't express myself correctly when I wrote the question. What I am trying to do here is explore the different possibilities for entering money into the country (always within the law) and as princpeofpounds kindly advice, there is more than one. Is not only about “dodging taxes” as you hinted but the different ways of doing it. Apologies for not knowing, that’s why I’m humbly asking.
I thought we were in a money saving forum! Does that includes tax too? J

MSE encourages paying less tax if you are entitled to do so, but I would be cautious of trying to "avoid" taxes. When large amouints of cash arrive here and are paid into your solicitor's account they will have to be accounted for. I'm not sure how far the bank's enquiries would go but your (very kind) in laws might find their generosity coming back to haunt them. You don't want to do or suggest any course of action to them that could cause them problems.

G_M

Where did the tax issue come from? Assuming the inlaws have come by the money legally and paid tax on it (we have no reason to question this), why can they not simply transfer the money to the OP in the UK. Either a bank transfer or FXas suggested?

Of course if the S American country in question has some kind of restriction on moving money out of the country, well, that is something for the inlaws to check - a UK moneysaving forum can hardly provide information on SA money export laws - esp as the country is not even named!

Fire_Fox

If you are bringing money into the country in order to buy property, the obvious thing to do is to check the most appropriate method of doing so with the conveyancing solicitor you intend to use. The last thing you want is the sale to be delayed whilst the solicitor checks everything out because you have bodged the paper trail. If the money is only for a deposit then the mortgage lender is also going to want proof of where the money came from.

FraudBuster

Cash + South America = ................................

Fire_Fox

FraudBuster wrote: »

Cash + South America = ................................

Columbian marching powder? :eek:

martindow

G_M wrote: »

Where did the tax issue come from?

I thought it was implied in the original post and was confirmed that 'avoiding' tax was part of the issue by the OP in post no 5.