Powerful people benefit from the existing system, want to keep it in place, and have deep connections across the political spectrum. Sheldon Whitehouse, a U.S. senator who has argued for greater financial transparency for many years, once told me that he does so partly because “the same techniques of concealment used to facilitate offshore thugs and criminal activities also facilitate the political activities of domestic special interests.” The individuals who benefit from financial secrecy often seek direct political influence, and this too makes them hard to block.
