Is it legal to own an offshore company?

Yes. Owning shares in an offshore corporation, directly or indirectly, is no different than owning a domestic business company. Of course, entering into offshore business should be considered along with some proper advice. Many high-tax countries have certain countermeasures in their tax rules against offshore finance centres. In particular, some governments have introduced a discriminating witholding tax or financial penalties on direct payments from domestic businesses out to corporations, situated in certain offshore countries. Therefore, it is a good idea to check if your country has any sort of “offshore blacklist” or any discriminating rules against transactions with offshore companies. A competent tax advisor or accountant back at home should be able to clarify this question. An offshore company is just the same as any domestic firm, only the offshore corporation is not burdened with excessive tax, does not require any startup capital, is easier to incorporate and easier to manage. Your taxman would like you to believe otherwise, but, strictly speaking, there is no law against owning an offshore company.