What a nominee director actually is....
A nominee director is someone who in fact is renting his or her name to you. In other words, the name of this person is used and not yours for the incorporation documents. They are also taking the positions on paper of the company directors. The term of straw man or front man has been used to describe someone who is acting as the nominee. Legally, according to the incorporation documents, the nominee is responsible for the company or entity. In addition, if it is the case of a nominee that is also listed as the shareholder(s), then they in effect also have the related ownership responsibilities as well.

For this reason, I know of some law firms that will not provide nominee services, or in the least, ask for a detailed application form that asks for so much personal information it is at the point of being ridiculous. Why do some lawyers feel this way? Well, remember what I have just mentioned about responsibility. Not many people want to be responsible for something that could potentially be involved in something that will bite them later on. The extreme majority of clients setting up an offshore structure are doing so for tax advantages, privacy, or other very legitimate reasons. But,
there are of course some people with some other ideas in mind. For this reason, most of the law firms we know of, are certainly concerned about what the client may be doing with the company.
In contrast to this, many so-called offshore firms have a more relaxed attitude, but there are some dangers with this as well.

The problem with any nominee comes down to trust. With that, there are really two issues here. One involves control or responsibility of the company or entity. The other, which is really the primary concern of all our clients, concerns their money.