Money Laundering Through Offshore Companies as a Way to Avoid Confiscation of Illegally Acquired Property

Abstract

Offshore companies often, especially in the last few years (the Panama Papers and Pandora Papers scandals), attract a lot of attention from the media and investigative journalists around the world, who invest several years of research in uncovering secret money flows of the world's most powerful people. Numerous small states and jurisdictions guarantee clients the maximum secrecy and security of their capital from tax liabilities. They also make it difficult to discover the origin of money, often acquired through illegal activities. This paper will focus on the establishment of these companies, what is their purpose and role in global financial flows, why they attract an increasing number of legal entities and individuals, the consequences of their actions on the world economy and state budgets, and international institutions that supervise the operations of offshore financial centers with the basic goal of their adjustment to global financial standards.