
How to Hide a Billion Dollars - known
https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/10/10/how-to-hide-a-billion-dollars
======
mrandish
Here's a perverse aside, I suspect once you get much over $10k to hide, each
10x increase in the amount actually makes it easier, not harder. Reasoning: if
you've got a small amount, transaction costs eat it up quickly and there's
little incentive for others to get involved.

If you've got $100m there are entire ecosystems of consultants offering to
"help you put that money to work." Identifying the more "cooperative" ones
willing to look the other way or sidestep certain barriers is probably not too
hard. And with $100m to hide, if it costs $5m to get the job done, that may
seem like a good deal.

Back when I sold my startup to an F500 acquirer, within days of the
acquisition hitting the news I started getting calls on my non-public, pretty
closely guarded, mobile number from financial advisors, investment bankers and
consultants. Everyone from Goldman Sachs on down. One of them pitched me on
how I could "shelter" funds. I asked him how and he walked me through a
byzantine scheme that seemed pretty shady - and I didn't even have anywhere
close to "real" money compared to even a fledgling banana-republic despot.

~~~
ct520
150k+ range should get easier. Anything less fees still eat you up. At lower
amount you basically be looking to mingle with entrepreneurs that have capital
and are willing to exchange at a percent equal to their risk.

~~~
MR4D
Less than 150K is cash or gold.

Pretty easy to put coins in your pocket (or several pockets) with change.

Carefully thought through, I'd bet you can put $100,000 into the change cup at
the airport security line and nobody would have a clue.

For instance, the Canadian Loonie [0], and the Canadian Gold Maple Leaf coin
[1] have similar color the same face on one side.

You can get more esoteric if you go with collector coins. Take a 1932 US
Quarter, with a value up to $15,000. [2] I guarantee you could put ten of
those in your pocket and nobody would notice!

[0] -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loonie#/media/File:Canadian_Do...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loonie#/media/File:Canadian_Dollar_-
_obverse.png)

[1] - [https://www.walmart.com/ip/Canada-1-oz-Gold-Maple-
Leaf-9999-...](https://www.walmart.com/ip/Canada-1-oz-Gold-Maple-
Leaf-9999-Fine-Random-Year/740050376)

[2] - [https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/washington-
quarters-19...](https://www.ngccoin.com/coin-explorer/washington-
quarters-1932-1998-pscid-38/1932-25c-ms-coinid-15790)

~~~
ct520
I will just say the government is petty. Your scenario seems easy but the
percentage you lose converting coins in and out would add up. I have witnessed
civil forfeitures in the amount of; 3k money orders, 5k money orders, 4.5k, 7k
cash, 11k cash, 19k cash, 58k cash, 240k cash, assets, bank accounts. Never
charged with a crime. They keep a closer eye on this then you would think and
FYI TSA gets a bounty on cash collected along with local agency's in most
counties. I like the coin idea though. I can ensure you its not the first time
I have heard it and ironically the first solution Ive heard from a couple of
engineers when broaching the subject.

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Havoc
>Prosecutors are mystified as to what military purpose might be served by the
upper deck’s jacuzzi.

Actually South Africa's former crooked president solved that.

You see it's not a swimming pool. It's a firepool. A source of water in case
of fire. Making it a safety feature and thus legitimate expense to guard the
president.

And to prove it they - I kid you not - made a youtube video about it:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH2PWsn1qu8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH2PWsn1qu8)

~~~
toomanybeersies
That's actually a legitimate feature of a swimming pool if the building
doesn't have another water supply (e.g. mains water or a pond) nearby.

In Australia they are a tax deductible expense as a water facility:
[https://www.theland.com.au/story/4330059/cool-
pool-20k-tax-w...](https://www.theland.com.au/story/4330059/cool-pool-20k-tax-
write-off/)

~~~
mxfh
Quite ingenious low cost reuse of a half container with prefab fibreglass
inlay. Even without the tax incentive.

[http://shippingcontainerpools.com.au/](http://shippingcontainerpools.com.au/)

[https://www.instagram.com/shippingcontainerpools/](https://www.instagram.com/shippingcontainerpools/)

------
trollied
A good modern day story of how not to hide $4 billion is Jho Low:
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jho_Low](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jho_Low)

The book that chronicles (Billion Dollar Whale) is a real page turner, with
lots of it being unbelievable.

Seen The Wolf Of Wall Street? He funded its production with his stolen $... :)

~~~
jeffwilcox
Agreed. I also enjoyed this short summary write-up about part of the book...
[https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2019/09/08/how-to-steal-
bi...](https://philip.greenspun.com/blog/2019/09/08/how-to-steal-billions/)

------
chewz
> Chatham House, a British think-tank, estimates that $582bn has been stolen
> from Nigeria alone since it won independence in 1960. [1]

[1] [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-
africa/2019/10/10/...](https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-
africa/2019/10/10/african-kleptocrats-are-finding-it-tougher-to-stash-cash-in-
the-west)

~~~
senorjazz
Not just a developing country problem. Look at the money that cannot be
account for during the Bush wars of the early 2000s, with Halliburton being
given costs+profit contracts and being able to say without oversight what
there costs where.

Same for a lot of developed countries with the 2008 banking crisis with
billions unaccountable

------
neonate
[http://archive.is/frnY9](http://archive.is/frnY9)

[https://web.archive.org/web/20191014191405/https://www.econo...](https://web.archive.org/web/20191014191405/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2019/10/10/how-
to-hide-a-billion-dollars)

------
rustig
Article cites gulf royals and king of Swaziland as examples of corruption but
neglects to mention the UK's own royal bunch who are just as wealthy or even
more so with no good explanation for how and why they're entitled to so much
of the country's wealth. A one-eyed take if you ask me. Typical of the
economist.

~~~
cperciva
The UK Royal family is wealthy because they acquired land through a
combination of warfare and marriages many centuries ago. If they're unique,
it's in the lengthy tenure; other medieval kingdoms have mostly overthrown
their kings and seized their assets.

That's _completely_ different from rulers who are actively looting their
nations today.

~~~
headsupftw
Of course it's different but I fail to see how it is "completely" different
given that the UK Royal family did actively loot ancient Britain. Tomeito
tomato if you ask me.

~~~
C1sc0cat
Yes we need to demand reparations from France oh no wait the Normans came from
Scandinavia.

------
madiathomas
This is the simple but not obvious way to hide a billion dollars. While you
are still looting resources of your country, make sure you are friendly to
United States of America and allow them to also loot. They won't touch you.
No-one will go after your loot if the US is also benefiting from the looting.

------
madiathomas
What is the difference between Mswati and the Queen of England? eSwatini also
have a Prime Minister. Just like Britain. We can say the same thing about the
Queen of England and other royals. He is living like a King because he is a
King of eSwatini, not an elected leader. Just like the Queen of England.

------
wil421
> Mo Ibrahim, a Sudanese-British telecoms tycoon, has endowed a $5m prize each
> year for an African president who governs well and retires when his term is
> up. You can live quite well on $5m. Yet for seven of the 12 years since the
> Ibrahim prize began, no worthy recipient has been identified.

------
unnouinceput
Here's me expecting an intricate and convoluted article on how to split the
billions in lower sums on different accounts and banks, use bitcoin and sorts,
make investment funds and bogus charities (like US billionaires) and instead I
get...this?

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slap
> Yet for seven of the 12 years since the Ibrahim prize began, no worthy
> recipient has been identified.

The last sentence was truncated.

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erikig
Kudos to Mo Ibrahim for putting his money where his mouth is.

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forinti
These articles always focus on poor countries, but shouldn't we treat such
places as Switzerland as corrupt, given that the money always seems to end up
there or it is used as a stepping stone so that mineral wealth can be siphoned
off cheaply (and thus pay less taxes)?

~~~
kenneth
Before blaming Switzerland, perhaps best to take a look at places such as the
U.S. and Delaware, which gets even more of the world's shady business.

~~~
bpodgursky
Because it isn't true? Delaware doesn't charge state corporate income tax and
has a specialized business court system. It does nothing to shelter you from
international taxation.

~~~
newguy1234
The only reason people believe this non-sense is because of how we are going
into another election cycle and pundits like to stoke people's ignorance of
international finance/taxation. If you repeat a lie enough, it becomes reality
and then you can use that new reality to push your agenda through with the
support of the ignorant masses.

~~~
chillwaves
For someone railing against "ignorance," your comment is certainly lacking in
knowledge. Some useful information would be helpful.

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campfireveteran
If you have substantial _liquid_ wealth, the best ways to hide it include art
(portable/small objects with stable/increasing prices) and foreign real estate
in desirable areas in municipalities with strong property rights.

~~~
repomies691
How is art liquid? I don't know much about art but my gut feeling would be
that it is very illiquid by default. Also very hard to value and difficult to
know which pieces will actually have value 10 years from now.

------
bookofjoe
[http://archive.is/frnY9](http://archive.is/frnY9)

------
gwbas1c
Bitcoin!

(Loud chorus of laughter)

~~~
nickthemagicman
That could be an article titled how to lose a billion dollars.

~~~
therein
Tether it is then. \s

~~~
DuskStar
That's how to _steal_ a billion - related but not quite the same thing.

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lurker2823
just ask the Biden's on how to do it

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rolltiide
This article is doing it wrong.

It should be an instruction manual on laundering it.

It instead lists how state actors messed up and defend the asset forfeitures
in court.

From my travelling amongst the supposed wealthy in various countries, some
cultures are just less flashy and more private than others.

The online lists of top 100 wealthiest people are 95% wrong. As in they only
correctly list 5 people, in approximate order, and dont even have the names of
the other 95.

