shell corporation
Business without operations
A shell corporation is a company that exists on paper but has no significant assets, operations, or employees.
Such entities are often created for 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 corporations.
Also called a shell company.
Zero-rate wealth jurisdiction
- offshoreAway from land
- Cayman IslandsCaribbean British overseas territory
- Panama PapersExposed secret shell companies
- BermudaNorth Atlantic island group
Jersey · Luxembourg · Delaware · Nevada · Wyoming · money laundering · liability shield · tax shelter
Exposed secret shell companies
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- exposureState of being unprotected
- crackdownSudden strict enforcement
Appleby · transparency · due diligence · AML · compliance · disclosure
Maintaining physical possession
- subsidiaryOf lesser importance
- parentMother or father
- entityIndependent existing thing
- LLCHybrid business entity abbreviation
jurisdiction · charter · shareholder · director · nominee · registered agent · legal entity · formation
Of unknown origin
- privacyFreedom from observation
- secrecyPractice of hiding information
- hiddenKept out of sight
- untraceableImpossible to follow back
opaque · layering · undisclosed · confidential · numbered account · straw man · front man · proxy
Forward-facing side
- legitimateConforming to accepted standards
- coverProtect by overlaying
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
- shamFraudulent imitation
brass plate · empty · dormant · inactive · fictitious · bogus · fraudulent · Potemkin
tax haven
Zero-rate wealth jurisdiction
- offshoreAway from land
- Cayman IslandsCaribbean British overseas territory
- Panama PapersExposed secret shell companies
Bermuda · Jersey · Luxembourg · Delaware · Nevada · Wyoming · money laundering · liability shield · tax shelter · capital flight
Panama Papers
Exposed secret shell companies
- whistleblowerInsider who reports misconduct
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- exposureState of being unprotected
Appleby · crackdown · transparency · due diligence · AML · compliance · disclosure
holding
Maintaining physical possession
- subsidiaryOf lesser importance
- parentMother or father
- entityIndependent existing thing
LLC · jurisdiction · charter · shareholder · director · nominee · registered agent · legal entity · formation · dissolution
anonymous
Of unknown origin
untraceable · opaque · layering · undisclosed · confidential · numbered account · straw man · front man · proxy · phantom
front
Forward-facing side
- legitimateConforming to accepted standards
- coverProtect by overlaying
- smokescreenConcealment through misdirection
sham · brass plate · empty · dormant · inactive · fictitious · bogus · fraudulent · Potemkin · window-dressing
shell, corporation, shells, shelled, shelling, shellfish, eggshell, seashell, corporate