While small countries are often perceived as major havens for hiding or laundering money, “enormous amounts of illicit funds” end up in the US financial system, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said.

       “There’s a good argument that, right now, the best place to hide and launder ill-gotten gains is actually the United States,” Yellen said in a speech to the Summit on Democracy.

       Switzerland or the Cayman Islands have long been the focuses of regulators looking to find hidden cash. But Yellen challenged the view that the proceeds of corruption or illegal activity are sent only to those “countries with histories of loose and secretive financial laws,” saying they are instead likely to “pass through — or land — in our markets.”

       She noted that some US states allow for the creation of shell firms without disclosing who really owns them.