Secret financial paradise: Why top official says US beats tropical islands at hiding money
US financial system works as worlds biggest money-hiding spot‚ beating traditional offshore places. Recent political moves might make this system even more open for questionable cash flows
In a shocking twist‚ the US stands as the worlds top spot for hiding questionable money - not some tiny palm-tree island somewhere. About 3 years ago Janet Yellen made this clear when she pointed out that America beats all other places at hiding dirty cash
The money-moving game works through several easy tricks: shell companies (which anyone can make in states like Delaware)‚ real-estate deals with no questions asked and investment funds that dont check where money comes from. Chinese groups now lead the way in moving illegal cash while terror groups like Hamas bring in huge amounts yearly - about half-a-billion through overseas business deals
The best place to hide and launder ill-gotten gains is actually the United States
Some big changes happened in early-21 when the Corporate Transparency Act passed; making it harder to hide who owns companies. But now Donald Trumpʼs supporters want to undo these rules. The Heritage Foundations “Project 2025“ aims to kill these laws‚ and several groups are filing lawsuits to stop them
The crypto world plays its part too: the new Republican plans would remove most controls on digital money (which is already used for lots of crimes). Trump himself switched from calling bitcoin a scam to backing it fully - even planning his own coin last summer
This mix of weak rules and new plans could make things worse: more crime money flowing in‚ other countries dropping their standards and less tax money for basic stuff like roads and schools. No major country has ever tried being both a global power and an anything-goes money hub at once
