Shell companies — which exist on paper only, with no real employees or offices — have legitimate uses.
But the untraceable shell also happens to be the vehicle of choice for money launderers, bribe givers and takers, sanctions busters, tax evaders and financiers of terrorism.
Michael Findley, Daniel Nielson and Jason Sharman, posing as consultants, asked 3,700 incorporation agents in 182 countries to form companies for them. The results are surprising.
See what they discovered at The Economist.
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