Jasper immediately sought out John after the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
John had rushed over from work and began complaining the minute he walked into the bar where they had planned to meet. “Mr. Jasper Laine, couldn’t you have told me what you wanted to say over the phone? Must we meet here?”
“It’s not a good idea to talk about it over the phone. I’m alright, but you’re a high profile man. I don’t have the means to compensate you if anything happens to a man holding an important job like you,” Jasper said as he smiled.
As the two grew closer, John and Jasper slowly became less formal when they spoke to each other, paying no attention to titles or tone. John did not treat Jasper as a multi-billionaire, and Jasper did not treat John as the vice president of one of the largest banks in the country.
John had a startled expression on his face as he glanced suspiciously at Jasper, saying, “Just listen to what you’re saying. Why have you come looking for me? You aren’t trying to team up with me and rob the bank, right? I won’t take part in these crazy schemes, but you can go ahead.”
Jasper did not know if he should laugh or cry as he said, “Do you think I need to rob your bank? With time, I can easily earn as much money as a bank in the province has.”
John suppressed a smile as he said, “That’s the most depressing thing I’ve ever heard in my life.”
After the two sat down, Jasper beckoned for a waiter to serve them some appetizers as he said, “Frankly, this isn’t anything major. But it is quite urgent, and after a lot of thought, the only person I could think of who would execute this efficiently without compromising quality was you.”
John said boldly, “Stop beating around the bush. Tell me, what do you need me to do?”
“Help me register a shell corporation in the Cayman Islands,” Jasper replied.
Startled, John said hesitantly, “You could just pay a corrupt intermediary to take care of matters like this for a couple of million dollars.”
“That’s why I said it wasn’t a major problem, but do you think there are intermediaries who could get it done by tomorrow morning?” Jasper asked exasperatedly as he tossed John a cigarette and lit himself one.
John’s eyes widened as he asked in disbelief, “Tomorrow morning?! Do you think I’m a god?!”
Jasper laughed and said, “No one else would be able to do it, but you won’t have a problem.”
John ran his fingers through his hair, which had grown considerably thinner ever since he got to know Jasper. He said, “Give me a minute to think about it.”
“Registering a company in the Cayman Islands isn’t hard… but a shell corporation? Do you want it to have the minimum registered capital?”
“Yes, one US dollar will be enough,” Jasper said as he smiled.
Several places in the world were tax-evading heaven for multinational companies, and the Cayman Islands was one of them. In fact, even in the year 2020, after 19 years had passed, several large corporations would still register either their branch offices or mother company in the Cayman Islands.
First of all, that place was tax-free. Second of all, foreign companies entering and investing within the domestic market was beneficial to countries like Somerland, which relied on foreign funding to develop in the year 2001.
Every place was trying to attract investors now, and being able to attract a foreign investor was considered a big plus. Thus, those who could think outside the box would seek the opportunity to register their company in other countries.
Without considering anything else, just the preferential policies and lifetime exemption from taxes were enough to cause the masses to rush like ducks.
“I’m not planning on having all the companies registered overseas. The first reason being that the procedure is much too complicated and time-consuming. The second reason, which is also the main reason, is that as a person of Somer descent profiting off my countrymen’s money, I must pay taxes to my country.
“That’s why I’m getting you to do this for me. I just need a shell corporation that I can get rid of once I’m done with it.”
John nodded knowingly as he listened to Jasper speak. Then, he let Jasper watch as he took his phone and made four or five phone calls in a row.
Half an hour later, John said, “Thank the Lord I still have a couple of friends who are in this business. One of them has immigrated to the Cayman Islands and often helps others with procedures like these. At least you would be doing it in a somewhat legal manner.
“Having it done by tomorrow does prove to be a challenge, but my friend has promised he’ll make it happen. It’s almost daytime where he is thanks to the six-hour time zone difference, so we should send him the information now. He’ll go get in line first thing in the morning and get a headstart on the procedures. Everything should be done, at the very latest, in the afternoon,” John said.
“Alright, give me your friend’s contact information, then. I’ll arrange for someone to get in touch with him regarding the information and relevant payments,” Jasper said.
When he heard that, John wrote down a number for Jasper.
Jasper immediately passed the number to Malcolm after receiving it.
Perhaps it was due to cultural influences, but this American was exceptionally good at unorthodox shenanigans like these.
He was also the one who had come up with this plan that would help prevent Jasper from getting into trouble with the law.
“How did your meeting with Agricultural Bank go?” John asked curiously.
“No major problems. I didn’t ask for him to do much except to keep an eye on the loan Conrad wants to take out and ensure it’s channeled into the new company’s account in its entirety. Not a single cent can find its way into his account. Isn’t this what’s usually explicitly requested when taking out loans with a bank?”
Jasper laughed as he asked.
John nodded and said, “Then that shouldn’t be too big of a problem. However, if you hadn’t popped in beforehand regarding such matters, who knows if anything had been wired to another personal account.”
“You know what things are like. No one’s going to look into it if there isn’t anyone acting as supervisor. These are all minuscule things to the president of a district branch, and his words act as rules so long as no major incidents happen.”
After a while of eating and chatting, Jasper stood to leave.
“Well, that’s all for today. I’ve still got to rush to meet a few other people,” Jasper said as he stood.
“It’s late. You still have appointments?” John asked confusedly.
Jasper smiled mysteriously as he said, “We’re signing the contract tomorrow. Of course, I’ll have to prepare all my plans beforehand. I must ensure the people in charge of those state-owned enterprises are in place before I sleep.”
John shook his head and said, “Whoever is trying to go against you will have seven years of bad luck lined up for them!”
