January 25, 2010
Panama City, Panama
A few weeks ago, I told you about a new private vault facility that was opening soon in Panama called “Best Safety Boxes.” At the time, I had not personally checked out the facility but at least wanted to make you aware of its opening.
Late last week, I had the opportunity to meet with the owners and take a personal tour of the facility. In full disclosure, I have decided against renting a box at the facility simply because I refuse to submit my biometric data for storage.
Furthermore, to make things even more clear, I want you to understand that I am receiving absolutely no compensation to say this, and I have no interest in the company, financial or otherwise.
The Good:
Security. Best Safety Boxes may be one of the most secure buildings in Panama. There are dozens of security features, high-tech and low-tech, including reinforced, bullet-proof glass, biometric scanners, one of the industry’s highest-rated vaults, backup redundancy monitoring systems, and of course, big guys with big guns. Simply put, Best Safety Boxes has better security than Ricardo Martinelli.
Anonymous ownership. With the use of Panama’s bearer share structures, the identity of a box lessee can be kept completely secret.
Location. If you are from North America and distance is a factor, you may find Panama to be the most convenient offshore jurisdiction to store gold and silver. Within Panama City, the Best Safety Box facility is conveniently and strategically located next to a bank and nearby a police station and private security company.
The Bad:
Lack of fire suppression. There is no fire suppression system in the main vault room at the Best Safety facility; this is a potential risk in my opinion given that there may be flammables under storage in some of the boxes.
Lack of privacy. While the identity of a box owner can be anonymous, the identity of the individual who accesses the box is recorded– anyone who enters/exits the facility is required to provide identification, and the entire facility is under recorded video surveillance. Additionally, biometric data for individuals with box access is collected and stored at off-site locations.
The Uncertain:
Price. Starting at $400 per year for a small box, Best Safety Boxes is substantially higher than boxes in Singapore or Hong Kong. Of course, the plane ticket to Panama is much cheaper than the ticket to Asia if you are from North America, so this may be negligible.
Gold Market. The gold market in Panama is growing, but still quite small. If you come down to Panama with a lot of gold, you may find it difficult to find a buyer of any significant volume.
Ownership. Hilt Tatum, one of the facility’s owners, had his reputation besmudged by a handful of bloggers over an online gambling scandal. I have not conducted my own formal investigation into the matter, but after reading several websites that allege Mr. Tatum’s wrongdoing, all I found were rumor and innuendo rather than hard, credible evidence.
For this reason, I wanted to hear Mr. Tatum’s side of the story. Here’s the deal– I found him to be a credible and candid person, and his own explanation that he was not connected to the scandal certainly seemed plausible.
In my opinion, it seems highly unlikely to me that someone would spend a great deal of time and money to create a very profitable business in Panama, only to eventually rob the boxholders of their belongings. Even if Mr. Tatum were morally bent, it would be easier, less risky, an more profitable to continue operating the business, which I’m sure will make him a great deal of money.
If you have any doubts whatsoever, you should come down to Panama yourself and meet with the owners to form your own opinion.
