shell company
Business without substance
A shell company is a business entity that exists only on paper—it has no significant assets, operations, or employees.
Shell companies serve legitimate purposes like holding assets or facilitating mergers, but they're also used to hide ownership, evade taxes, or launder money: The investigation traced payments through a maze of shell companies.
Zero-rate wealth jurisdiction
- Panama PapersExposed secret shell companies
- Cayman IslandsCaribbean British overseas territory
- British Virgin IslandsUK overseas Caribbean territory
- BelizeCentral American coastal nation
Nevis · Luxembourg · Switzerland · Malta · Gibraltar · Isle of Man · Delaware · Nevada
Disguising criminal proceeds' origins
- tax evasionIllegally avoiding government dues
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
- corruptionDishonest abuse of power
bribery · kickback · sanctions evasion · structuring · smurfing · wire fraud · financial crime · RICO
Legally separate business entity
- subsidiaryOf lesser importance
- LLCHybrid business entity abbreviation
- entityIndependent existing thing
- incorporatedLegally formed as company
nominee · corporate veil · legal fiction · vehicle · conduit · intermediary
Unknown identity state
- secrecyPractice of hiding information
- privacyFreedom from observation
- layeringForming successive strata
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
opaque · undisclosed · disguise · fronting
Securing owned resources legally
- liability shieldSafeguard from being sued
- tax planningStrategies minimizing owed levies
- estate planningPreparing asset distribution posthumously
- privacy protectionSafeguarding personal information from exposure
tax haven
Zero-rate wealth jurisdiction
- Panama PapersExposed secret shell companies
- Cayman IslandsCaribbean British overseas territory
- British Virgin IslandsUK overseas Caribbean territory
Belize · Nevis · Luxembourg · Switzerland · Malta · Gibraltar · Isle of Man · Delaware · Nevada · non-resident
money laundering
Disguising criminal proceeds' origins
- tax evasionIllegally avoiding government dues
- fraudIntentional criminal trickery
- embezzlementFraudulent taking of entrusted assets
corruption · bribery · kickback · sanctions evasion · structuring · smurfing · wire fraud · financial crime · RICO · suspicious activity
corporation
Legally separate business entity
- subsidiaryOf lesser importance
- LLCHybrid business entity abbreviation
- entityIndependent existing thing
incorporated · nominee · corporate veil · legal fiction · vehicle · conduit · intermediary
anonymity
Unknown identity state
- secrecyPractice of hiding information
- privacyFreedom from observation
- layeringForming successive strata
untraceable · opaque · undisclosed · disguise · fronting
asset protection
Securing owned resources legally
- liability shieldSafeguard from being sued
- tax planningStrategies minimizing owed levies
- estate planningPreparing asset distribution posthumously
- financial fraudsecurities fraud, bank fraud, accounting fraud, defalcation, embezzler
- business termsfranchising, revenue stream, board meeting, gross margin, markdown
- crimerobbery, accomplice, alibi, burglary, conspiracy
- espionagespy, spies, double agent, double agents, spying
- businessesbusiness, bank, bakery, enterprise, firm
- Corporate Termssubsidiary, CFO, affiliate, division, merger
shell companygoing concern
Profitable, continuing enterprise
employer · small business · family business · startup · corporation
shell, company, shells, eggshell, shellfish, seashell, shelled, shelling, nutshell