It is a truth universally acknowledged that a soon-to-be-single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of hiding most of it from his wife. This tiny adjustment to Jane Austen’s words was one of the conclusions that most surprised the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists when a trove of files from the global law firm Mossack Fonseca was leaked, leading to stories around the world about the money laundering practices of the rich and famous. One of the specialties of Mossack Fonseca is helping clients incorporate companies in certain countries, usually those with open financial regulations and not very open-eyed financial oversight. Read More: The Panama Papers Could Lead to Capitalism’s Greatest Crisis These offshore companies can then be used to house assets, often to avoid paying taxes.