The following are facts on the ground of Luxembourg, a typical haven for offshore banks:

1. All it needs to set up an offshore bank is just a physical address.

2. Banking services can be as simple as checking boxes on regulatory documents regarding money transfers.

3. Banking services are for sale on the Internet. Of course, caveat emptor (let the buyer beware).

4. All it needs to guard secrecy is to take advantage of the attorney-client privilege.

5. The hired lawyer can act as a nominee for a trust, thus keeping the actual owner's identity confidential.

6. A "flee clause" in a trust agreement allows assets to be moved around the world when under inquiry.

It is ridiculously easy to set up an offshore bank. Meanwhile, it is ridiculously difficult to beat money launderers at their own game. That being said, intelligence-gathering is the name of the game. That's why ex-CIA agents often get hired as the US government's contractors who, ironically, may have to take the law into their own hands. Here's how a team of US agents would crack a case involving state actors:

Don't count on audio-visual surveillance alone to identify who's running the shady business. Go physical. Go digital. 

By hook or by crook, get the target out of his/her office building in the way that the agent can steal the electronic data on his/her RFID (radio-frequency identification) badge. Then, make a working copy of the badge, which allows the agent to access the target's computer network in his/her office.

No doubt the target's computer network is safe from outside vectors. So, the agent has to plant a RAT (Remote Administration Tool) on it, which would make hacking possible, despite good file encryption. The target's actual files would likely be the holy grail, thanks to the hackers on the right side of the law.

That's all, folks!

--- Lingyang Jiang