The main aim of a using a nominee director is to prevent the general public from knowing that a direct relationship exists between the beneficial owner and his offshore company. Employing a nominee director or a nominee manager for an offshore company helps to avoid implications that the beneficial owner is closely controlling and operating the particular offshore company (the “management and control” concept). So, essentially, the main purpose of the nominee director is to protect the confidentiality of the client.
The nominee director can perform various managerial functions which would otherwise have to be performed by someone directly related to the company. The actual involvement of the nominee director in the daily matters of the offshore company can vary according to the necessities and circumstances of the client. Generally, the more involved nominee gets into the company management, the more expensive this service becomes for the offshore company. Quite often (but not always), the involvement of the nominee remains, as the name suggests, nominal. In this case all practical functions of the regular management of the company are routinely carried out by the owner of the company himself, acting as a “representative” of the IBC on grounds of a power of attorney. For more information on this topic, please refer to the Company Management chapter.