Moving capital to a neutral jurisdiction — without losing a year at the bank?
We plan and document the move: relocation roadmaps, source-of-funds files, KYC and UBO documentation, re-domiciliation and banking setup in Hong Kong and alternative hubs.
What we solve
Relocating capital is rarely blocked by law. It is blocked by documentation. The owner knows exactly how the wealth was made; the bank, the corporate service provider and the new jurisdiction's gatekeepers know none of it — and each will ask, in their own format, before anything moves.
We treat the move as a single project: a sequenced roadmap, a source-of-funds dossier built to bank standards, entity migration where it helps, and onboarding managed institution by institution. The aim is boring: no surprises, no resubmissions, no year lost to compliance ping-pong.
What we do
Relocation roadmap
A sequenced plan: what moves, where, in what order, and what each step requires — agreed before anything is signed.
Source-of-funds dossier
The file banks actually read: how the wealth was made, evidenced document by document and consistent across every application.
KYC / UBO documentation
Beneficial ownership papers, corporate trees and certifications prepared to bank standards.
Re-domiciliation
Migration of companies between jurisdictions, including Hong Kong's inward re-domiciliation regime introduced in 2025 — registry steps with a local agent.
Banking & custody setup
Onboarding strategy: institution selection, file preparation and responses to compliance queries until the account is open.
Residency & visa coordination
Coordination of personal residency steps with the capital plan, working with local immigration counsel where required.
Representative experience
CIS business owner onboarded at a Hong Kong bank
Prepared a complete source-of-wealth and source-of-funds dossier for a first-generation business owner. Onboarding completed without escalation.
Holding company re-domiciled to a neutral hub
Planned and executed the migration of a holding company to a neutral jurisdiction, preserving its banking relationships through the transition.
Phased relocation of family capital
Sequenced the movement of family assets over two years to match residency changes and banking capacity in the receiving jurisdiction.
Matters are described without identifying parties or amounts. More representative matters.
Partners recognised in Chambers and Legal 500.
Recognition sits with the individuals who run your matter — not with a logo. The partners responsible for this practice are listed in the leading independent directories.
- 01Initial meeting and conflict check, then a written assessment of your situation.
- 02A proposal with a clear fee structure and scope before any work begins.
- 03The matter is run with regular updates and direct partner access.
- 04A result report and a recommendation on next steps.
The team for this practice
Margaret Hale
Trusts and foundations, succession, family offices, capital relocation.
Raymond Ng
Territorial tax positions, DTA access, holding structures, bank onboarding.
Irina Sokolova
Private wealth, trusts, succession planning.
Marcus Tan
Sanctions and AML compliance, KYC files, regulatory perimeter.
Sofya Markova
Private wealth, trusts, family offices, succession.
Questions clients ask
Is it still possible to move CIS-origin capital into Hong Kong?
Yes, where the funds are lawful and documented. Hong Kong implements United Nations sanctions and does not implement unilateral US sanctions; banks nonetheless apply their own group policies, so the practical gate is the quality of your file.
Our sequence is fixed: screening first, then documentation, then the bank. We do not submit files we have not verified.
What does a source-of-funds dossier actually contain?
A narrative of how the wealth was made, supported document by document: contracts, accounts, tax filings, sale agreements, valuations and corporate records. The test is verifiability — every sentence in the narrative should have a paper anchor a compliance officer can check.
How long does bank onboarding take?
It varies by institution and profile, and it is measured in months, not days. We run institutions in parallel where profiles allow, and we answer compliance queries within our four-hour response window so the file never sits at the bottom of a queue on our side.
What is re-domiciliation and when does it help?
Re-domiciliation moves a company's jurisdiction of incorporation without liquidating it — contracts, history and often banking continuity survive the move. Hong Kong introduced an inward re-domiciliation regime in 2025, which makes it a genuine option for groups consolidating in Asia. Registry steps are completed with a local agent.
Do you guarantee the account will be opened?
No — and you should be wary of anyone who does. Banks decide. What we control is the completeness and consistency of the file, which in practice determines most outcomes.
Can the business keep operating during the move?
Yes — that is the point of sequencing. The roadmap is built so that banking, contracts and payment flows continue while entities and accounts migrate in stages. Done properly, the business experiences the move as paperwork, not interruption.
What if a bank declines the application?
A decline is information, not a verdict. The same dossier, adjusted for what the decline revealed, supports applications to other institutions — which is why we keep the file institution-agnostic and run candidates in parallel where the profile allows.
From the Capital Relocation cluster
The source-of-funds dossier: what banks actually read
Hong Kong's inward re-domiciliation regime: a first look
Sequencing a relocation: assets, entities, people
Practitioner notes for this practice are in preparation and will appear in the Capital Relocation cluster.
Visit the Insights hubDiscuss a Capital Relocation matter.
A written assessment of your position and options is the usual first step.