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The patterns of elites who conceal their assets offshore

Billionaires, oligarchs, and other members of the uber rich, known as “elites,” are notorious for use of offshore financial systems to conceal their assets and mask their identities. Understanding the transnational offshore finance networks that they utilize has long been a challenge given the secrecy involved.

Yet, elites who come from countries where their assets are likely to be seized due either to a lack of civil rights or a government with effective regulations tend to use a “concealment strategy” to remain anonymous. Chang says, “There are also cases like Singapore where the government is free of corruption but low on civic participation, where blacklisted offshore financial centers may still be highly utilized by elites.” “Our overarching goal in this work is to better understand the patterns of ‘secrecy’ implicit in offshore investment,” says co-author Daniel Rockmore, professor of math and computer science.

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