Opportunities Abroad For Deep Web Entrepreneurs Part 2
Posted by: DeepDotWeb
December 4, 2014
Picking a country to live in is very personal matter and there can’t be a exact guide for that but below are a few possible options. These countries have been evaluated on the countries ties to the USA and West, economy, legal and enforcement systems, and business or laundering opportunities.
Cambodia
Cambodia’s economy is growing and Cambodia is becoming more and more welcoming to foreign capital. It is often overlooked by people looking for business or investment opportunities. Entrepreneurs are starting to move there to start businesses but it is still in its early days, leaving plenty of opportunities untouched. Besides that, it is very easy and fast (within 4 months) to get second passport in Cambodia.
The police is in Cambodia are still very corrupt and if you have any problems with them, throw them a few bucks and the problem goes away. The bitcoin scene there is emerging but has yet to fully take off and as a result this is perfect opportunity. Cambodia’s dysfunctional banking system, and the countries emergence as a developed economy requires a financial system that has less friction and more robust. Cambodia doesn’t have a bitcoin exchange yet (unless you count this) and starting an exchange in a emerging economy is great opportunity to turn those bitcoins you earned into cash.
Cambodia has been to reported to be a data collection point for NSA’s program Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) for the region. It should be noted that Cambodia is identified as a collection point and not an attack point but regardless, it is not great feeling to know the NSA is around.
Colombia
Colombia is a prime choice for black market entrepreneurs who want to continue to run businesses and don’t want to retire or go the legit yet. Colombia is the source of some of the world’s best cocaine. It can be bought cheaply and at high quality – making it ideal for online black market entrepreneurs. While the local drug trade is currently peaceful and clam, that is likely to change sooner or later. That is why it would be a good idea to not get involved in the local drug trade but rather use local suppliers and sell the west for a impressive mark up.
Columbia is definitely for the daring entrepreneur. Colombia is one of the more violent (though, the violence has started to decline the last couple of years) and the third most spied up upon by the NSA countries of Latin America. The violence isn’t a war zone level in most of the country but the country can be violent and requires someone who can cope and protect themselves in such circumstances. The cities are far more than stable than countrysides. The NSA spying seems to be more directed towards diplomatic tensions in the area, rather than the drug war, as suggested by classified documents released by Snowden.
There are really no passport or offshore benefits and very little business opportunity in the country due to the violence and totally dysfunctional government. Colombia doesn’t exactly have the best financial system in the world and thus, bitcoin has a small but fiery group of fans there. A dominant bitcoin exchange has not yet emerged but rather smaller Local Bitcoins type listing have met to the market’s need. This is because Colombian government has been very hostile towards bitcoin. They have already barred banks form working with the currency in any way. An all out ban has been rumored, but bitcoin activists are meeting with government officials and trying to around the situation. I doubt it will be banned permanently, but instead, a back and forth situation similar to China will emerge. Regardless, it is unlikely that this be center for bitcoin innovation or activity and would probably make the act of laundering bitcoins into cash a difficult task.
Morocco
Is another destination for the entrepreneur and not the retiree. Morocco’s hash is world renown for its quality. Europe is more familiar with the joy of smoking Morocco hash than the USA but even there it can be expensive and in limited quantities. Making it difficult for a vendor to find a cheap enough wholesaler. Moving to the source of the green gold might be a more efficient way to get bigger and cheaper portions the product.
Morocco is a beautiful country but it is a very conservative government and has some weird law as a result. Of course, whenever such strict laws exist on the book a thriving black market exists in the mysterious shadows of the white market. There has been no reports of NSA activity in the region but that does not necessarily mean there is none.
Bitcoin activity is slow to catch on in the north African country but bordering the country to the north, is Spain which is a hotbed for bitcoin activity. Laundering bitcoin won’t be as easy, but not impossible. Africa is a interesting place to be these days, because bitcoin taking off in most of the continent. The bitcoin infrastructure is in its infancy and will need a large source of bitcoin that you can provide.
Indonesia
Indonesia has an economic and anarchic style of Mexico but with much less violence and farther away from the control of the USA. It is forth largest populated country in the world and has a growing economy. Is is very easy to start a business there and there are a lot of needs in the market to carter to. Making it is easy to start a business to launder money. To add to that, bitcoin is taking off in the country and booming bitcoin ecosystem has a high demand for bitcoins making exchanging your hard earned bitcoins into fiat currency very easy. Numerous exchanges and other bitcoin businesses have popped up, including one project aimed at making Indonesia, “The Bitcoin Island.”
Even though minor drugs like weed are common and used in daily meals in many parts of the country, harder drugs like cocaine, morphine, and heroin are treated very harshly. If convicted of making, importing, exporting, etc. with hard drugs you will be given the death sentence. In airports, they have a cherry greeting sign that says “DEATH TO DRUG TRAFFICKERS.” In spite of such governmental attitudes the drug trade is thriving there and done right, you won’t get caught. Regardless, I would suggest this country for people looking to retire from the drug business and go legit.
Philippines
Philippines is a booming economy with some of the most talented and cheap labor in the world. The Philippines is really welcoming to foreigners and many western entrepreneurs are moving there to start a business. Starting a business is there is a simple and quick procedure. There are many sectors of the economy which are underdeveloped and thus, it is not hard to find a enterprise that will get a lot of business. Very ideal for legitimizing a illegitimate form of income. Philippines is also Southeast Asia’s bitcoin hub. A poor, unbanked, but increasing technology savvy population is a perfect storm for bitcoin adoption. One of the hardest things to get is bitcoins, and that makes selling your bitcoins for paper money a very easy task there. A large portion of the population speaks English which makes doing business and living there a easier transition.
The Philippines is country where it pays to be ask for forgiveness, not permission. Bribing is a common occurrence there and a must for doing business there. It is makes dealing with the cops less worrisome since throwing some cash around and knowing the right people can get you out of trouble. On the flip side, the Philippines is a target of NSA surveillance, as revealed by documents stolen by Snowden and published by the Intercept. The documents revealed that the NSA is recording metadata (time, source, and destination of calls) in Philippines but not the actual audio. Of course, this is one of there board sweeping programs. Of course, they could start recording the full audio of selected individuals. That is why the Philippines is better for someone who is looking to retire and go “legit” rather than continuing to be active in the drug trade.
Updated: 2014-12-04