Shell companies can provide an extraordinary level of secrecy, making it impossible for even the seller to know who they’re making a deal with. That helps out a huge array of people who want to hide illicit funds. As Shruti Shah of anti-corruption NGO Coalition for Integrity puts it, shell firms’ secrecy makes them “a favorite tool for just about any criminal from tax evaders and money launderers to drug traffickers and kleptocrats.” Read more
