I didn't understand for quite some time why prosecutors couldn't go after and find tax perpetrators who they knew had offshore structures. Until I finally found out how simple it is. One of two or both reasons:
1)As laid out in this article by the BBC, there simply is no record of the true beneficial owner.
2)The jurisdictions have no legal agreements with western countries to hand over their records.
Example: Person A in western country X has an offshore structure going through countries Y and Z, both of which have no legal agreement with country X.
Now through some leaks and witnesses, prosecutors in country X know that person A is hiding something in Y and Z, but they cannot prove it. They cannot obtain those records legally, if there even are any.
How does the "beneficial owner" benefit from the ownership if he can't prove he's the owner? How do they get their money out? And can't we tax them at this point?
Yes I understand these are difficult schemes but can't you just freeze accounts you don't know who the owner is and see who comes out of the woodwork.
Just freeze all accounts until paperwork X is signed, problem solved?
Usually through trustees and fiduciaries in yet again different jurisdictions. Until you prove beyond a reasonable doubt who the beneficial owner is, it's really legally ambiguous to enforce any laws or regulations.
There are efforts aiming at this [1], but it will take time.
1)As laid out in this article by the BBC, there simply is no record of the true beneficial owner.
2)The jurisdictions have no legal agreements with western countries to hand over their records.
Example: Person A in western country X has an offshore structure going through countries Y and Z, both of which have no legal agreement with country X. Now through some leaks and witnesses, prosecutors in country X know that person A is hiding something in Y and Z, but they cannot prove it. They cannot obtain those records legally, if there even are any.
That's what must be tackled.