underground market
Illicit trading network
An underground market is a system of trade operating outside legal channels, where goods or services are bought and sold in violation of laws or regulations.
The term covers black markets for contraband, unlicensed vendors, and informal economies evading taxation or oversight: Sanctions created a thriving underground market for imported goods.
Also called a black market or shadow economy.
Prohibited trade goods
- bootlegIllegally produced goods
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
- knockoffUnauthorized replica product
- smugglingIllegal covert transport
trafficking · prohibition · fence · moonshine · piracy · forgery · fake · replica
Away from land
- shell companyInactive firm for transactions
- tax havenZero-rate wealth jurisdiction
- loopholesExploitable ambiguities in rules
- tax fraudIllegal underpayment of duties
avoidance · laundering · money laundering · concealment · kickbacks · bribery · corruption · audit
Concealed from authorities
- covertIntentionally concealed
- furtiveSecretive and sly
- hiddenKept out of sight
- undercoverSecretly engaged in espionage
stealthy · surreptitious · veiled · encrypted · anonymous · dark web · Tor · burner phone
Unrecorded for tax purposes
- cash-in-handPayment in physical currency
- unreportedNot officially documented
- undeclaredNot officially acknowledged
- unregulatedNot controlled by rules
barter · unofficial · extralegal · unrecorded · subsistence · street vendors · day labor · remittances
contraband
Prohibited trade goods
- bootlegIllegally produced goods
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
- knockoffUnauthorized replica product
smuggling · trafficking · prohibition · fence · moonshine · piracy · forgery · fake · replica · imitation
offshore
Away from land
- shell companyInactive firm for transactions
- tax havenZero-rate wealth jurisdiction
- loopholesExploitable ambiguities in rules
tax fraud · avoidance · laundering · money laundering · concealment · kickbacks · bribery · corruption · audit · tax shelter
clandestine
Concealed from authorities
undercover · stealthy · surreptitious · veiled · encrypted · anonymous · dark web · Tor · burner phone · code words
off-the-books
Unrecorded for tax purposes
- cash-in-handPayment in physical currency
- unreportedNot officially documented
- undeclaredNot officially acknowledged
unregulated · barter · unofficial · extralegal · unrecorded · subsistence · street vendors · day labor · remittances · microenterprise
underground, market, under, ground, undergrounds, grounds, grounded, grounding, groundless