Panama’s Punta Pacifica neighborhood as seen from Cerro Alcón, a hill that separates the city from the Canal Zone and has never been urbanized. Panamanians like to compare the capital’s skyline to Dubai’s. Panama

An employee of “Jetpack Cayman” demonstrates this new watersport, now available on the island. A 2000cc motor pumps water up through the Jetpack, propelling the client out of the sea (359 USD for a 30-minute session). Mike Thalasinos, the owner of the company, remarks, “The Jetpack is zero gravity, the Cayman are zero taxes, we are in the right place!” Grand Cayman.

Mr. Neil M. Smith is the British Virgin Islands’ Finance Secretary, photographed here in his office in Road Town, Tortola. The BVI is one of the world’s most important offshore financial service centers and the world leader for incorporating companies. There are more then 800,000 companies based in the BVIs but only 28,000 inhabitants. The BVIs are the second-biggest direct investors in China, just after Hong Kong. British Virgin Islands

Fiona Woolf, the Lord Mayor of The City of London, is photographed in her residence, the Mansion House. The City of London, also known as the Square Mile, is a small and peculiar local authority area lodged within the geographical center of the greater London metropolis. The City’s resident population is about 8,000, but over 400,000 people work here every day. The London Stock Exchange, Lloyd’s and the Bank of England are all based here, along with 500 banks from around the world. The Lord Mayor, not to be confused with the Mayor of London, runs the local authority in the Square Mile – known as The City of London Corporation – but is also, the Corporation’s website declares, “a trusted spokesperson for the business and financial community.” Even more confusingly, the term “City of London,” often just called “The City,” is also commonly taken broadly to mean the UK financial services sector, which in geographical terms has spilled far beyond the borders of the Square Mile and makes the UK the world’s largest exporter of financial services. City of London.

Tony Reynard (on the right) and Christian Pauli, in one of the high-security vaults of the Singapore Freeport. Mr. Reynard is the Chairman of the Singapore Freeport and Mr. Pauli is the General Manger of Fine Art Logistics NLC, which in addition to Singapore, also has vaults in Geneva, Monaco and Luxembourg. The Singapore Freeport, which was designed, engineered and financed by a Swiss team of businessmen, is one of the world’s premier maximum-security vaults, where billions of dollars in art, gold and cash are stashed. Located just off the runway of Singapore’s airport, the Freeport is a fiscal no-man’s land where individuals as well as companies can confidentially collect valuables out of reach of the taxman. Singapore

Richard J. Geisenberger (standing) is Delaware’s Chief Deputy Secretary of State. He is photographed in the Wilmington State Building, overseeing one of the more than 5000 incorporations that take place daily in Delaware. It takes a few minutes, no questions asked, to incorporate a company, and the state office stays open until midnight Monday through Thursday. More than 50% of all U.S. publicly traded companies and 63% of the Fortune 500 are incorporated in Delaware. Delaware.

Besides being one of the world’s major offshore centers, the Cayman Islands are also a prime tourist destination, attracting low-cost cruise ships travelling to the Caribbean. Tourists disembark on the island for one day and are offered a range of attractions including a one-hour all-drinks-included “pirate ship trip,” with Jamaican immigrants playing the pirates. Grand Cayman

The construction of a new set of locks for the Panama Canal. This gigantic multibillion-dollar expansion is due to be completed by 2016 and will allow post-Panamax ships to transit the Canal. The project is running almost two years behind and the initial budget has now doubled, pitting the Panamanian government against the consortium of companies doing the work. Panama

Ernst & Young’s headquarters in London. E&Y is one of the “Big Four” audit firms. It has 190,000 employees and more than 700 offices in over 150 countries. It is the third-largest professional services firm in the world by aggregated revenue. It provides assurance, financial auditing, tax, consulting and advisory services to companies. The “Big Four” (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and E&Y) are often accused of being the backbone of offshore finance and aggressive tax avoidance strategies. They collectively audit around 99% of FTSE 100 companies. Ernst & Young was the Lehman Brothers’ auditor just before the investment bank went bankrupt in 2008. Lehman’s bankruptcy filing was the largest in US history and played a major role in the unfolding of the global financial crisis. City of London

A trader at work at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the sixth-largest in the world and the second in Asia in terms of value of shares traded. Hong Kong

Philip Eisenbeiss spars with his Serbian kickboxing trainer, Saso Popovic, at the EPIC Club in Hong Kong. Mr. Eisenbeiss is one of the most highly regarded headhunters in the city and a partner at Executive Access, the largest Asian headhunting firm specialized in the financial and legal industries. Hong Kong

On a Sunday morning, Jason Blick polishes his Ducati 848, one of the fastest motorbikes on the market, while his girlfriend looks on. Grand Cayman is 22 miles long and has only one main road. Mr. Blick is the Chief Executive Officer of Cayman Enterprise City, which is establishing a free trade zone on the Island. An Australian, he moved to the Caymans in 2010. Grand Cayman

Kandra Powery, 25, and her three children, Kayla, 9, Kaleb, 8, and Janae, 2. The Caymans, a thriving offshore financial center, is the fourth-richest country in the Americas (GDP per capita) but has real pockets of poverty. 55% of the labor force is composed of non-nationals occupying both low-paying jobs in the service sector and high-end jobs in the finance industry. Grand Cayman

Giovanni Valenti (at the center of the photo), 69, is the Chief Concierge of the Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong. Both he and the iconic hotel have become city institutions. For more then 20 years, Mr. Valenti has welcomed presidents, businessmen and international stars on a daily basis, showing them to their $7000-a-night suites. “In Hong Kong there is only one God: money,” he affirms. Hong Kong

Billy Ceravolo, 32, on the left with camera in hand, is the owner of the bikini brand TeenyB, whose motto is, “Less fabric, more looks.” She, the photographer and the models have come from Florida to the Caymans to snap images of the new fashion line. Besides being one of the major offshore centers in the world, the Cayman Islands are also a popular tourist destination. Grand Cayman

John E. Chapoton (standing) is the guest speaker at the monthly luncheon of the Wilmington Tax Group, where professionals gather to hear speakers on topics of policy, administration, and tax law. In his speech, Mr. Chapoton advocates for a tax reform in line with the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which, as assistant Secretary of the Treasury under President Reagan, he helped formulate. Under that reform, the top tax rate for individuals was lowered from 50% to 28%. Delaware.

Mrs. Lorna Smith is a financial industry expert working on the promotion and the image of the BVI. She is Chairperson of the Financial Services Business Development Committee. She opened the BVI interest offices in Hong Kong and London and takes part in negotiations with the OECD concerning tax treaties. She is also the country’s First Lady. Her husband, Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, is the Premier. British Virgin Islands

Andreas Ugland and family are depicted in a large oil painting hanging at the entrance of Mr. Ugland’s “Cayman Motor Museum”. The museum houses his unique collection of Ferraris, Rolls-Royces, Bentleys and vintage motorbikes. Mr. Ugland, who was born in Norway, acquired Caymanian citizenship in the 1990s. He is a billionaire, Chairman of Ugland International Holdings and runs a number of companies and banks in the Cayman Islands, the US and Europe. This painting illustrates his achievements and passions. At the center of the painting is the rather banal looking “Ugland House,” a building where more then 19,000 companies are registered. It has become such a symbol of tax avoidance that President Obama has stated that “either this is the largest building in the world or the biggest tax scam on record.” Grand Cayman

The Cayman Islands are the fifth-largest financial center in the world, with twice as many companies based there as there are citizens. Many of these companies have a post office box but no office. Grand Cayman

C.C. is 25 and lives with her mother in a motel in Wilmington, Delaware. She is a prostitute, a crack dealer and a heroin addict. Delaware has one of the highest drug overdose mortality rates in the United States. Delaware

A man floats in the 57th-floor swimming pool of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, with the skyline of “Central,” the Singapore financial district, behind him. Singapore

Students of the “Financial Consultant Trainees Initial Program” at GEO Securities, a Hong Kong-based asset management company, learn selling techniques. Mr. Francis Lun, the CEO of the company says, “Hong Kong is the place you come to grab the money. Everything here is gambling. You have to learn how to gamble if you want to survive in Hong Kong.” Hong Kong

In a pool in St. Helier, children swim towards an artificial island. The pool is fed by the high tide’s seawater. Jersey experiences tides of up to ten meters, some of the world’s largest. Jersey is ranked ninth on the 2013 financial secrecy index compiled by the Tax Justice Network, making it one of the world’s most important secrecy jurisdictions. Jersey

A meeting of The City of London Corporation’s Policy and Resources Committee at the Guildhall, West Wing. The City of London Corporation is a unique combination of private company and public authority. It runs both The City and its vast property portfolio in and beyond the boundaries of the Square Mile. The City of London is the only part of Britain over which Parliament does not have full authority. The City’s 8,000 residents have a right to vote, but the City’s companies effectively can handpick three times as many non-resident voters, putting all decision-making power firmly in the hands of the financial companies based there. Over centuries The City of London has used its position as financier to the country to carve itself out special privileges, giving it an offshore flavour. The City of London and the UK financial services industries work closely with the UK’s Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories, which include some of the world’s biggest tax havens. City of London

Developers from the American company Point Ciana, together with a group of architects and engineers, look at plans for the upcoming construction of a tourist complex on the seafront at West Bay. Grand Cayman

Richard Coles, former Governor of the Cayman Islands, is the chairman of Cayman Finance, an association tasked with “promoting the territory’s financial services industry.” He is a staunch defender of the right of the Caymans to operate as a tax haven. He states, “What we do here might not be considered moral, but it is certainly legal.” Grand Cayman

Adrian Cheng briefs members of his communications team. Mr. Cheng, ranked 38th on the Fortune “40 under 40” list, is the executive director of Chow Tai Fook Group, a company whose businesses range from jewelry to transportation, and from casinos to telecommunications. He is also the executive director and joint manager of the real estate company New World Development Company Limited. The complex network of businesses owned by Chow Tai Fook enterprises is based in Hong Kong, but the companies which comprise it are incorporated in the BVI, Delaware or the Caymans. The Chow Tai Fook jewelry company is one of the world’s biggest jewelry retailers, with more then 1,000 stores (Tiffany & Co. has fewer than 100). In 2010, Chow Tai Fook purchased a 507-carat diamond for $35.3 million, setting a new record for the highest price paid for a rough diamond. Hong Kong

Businessman have a chat in front of Liberation House, an office building occupied by financial institutions. They both work for Computer Sciences Corporation, an American multinational that has offshore clients in Jersey to whom it provides consultancy and software development services. On the right hangs “Jersey Girl,” a sculpture by Rowan Gillespie, its base inscribed with the Thoreau quote, “All good things are wild and free.” Jersey

Vicky Lam at the Hong Kong Perrotin Gallery, where she has just purchased, for $70,000, the manga-inspired painting hanging on her right entitled “Such a Thrill...It’s Crazy,” by the artist “Mr.” Ms. Lam is the director of Apex Property, a luxurious real estate development company active in Hong Kong, China, the UK, Australia and the USA. Investment in art has shot up in the last decade, proving to be safer then stocks, rivaling gold and attracting new kinds of investors who do not come from a collecting background. Many major art dealers, like Gagosian and Perrotin, eager to cater to this new market, have recently opened galleries in Hong Kong. Hong Kong

Phil Davis, 46, is Vice President and General Manager of Dell for Asia Pacific and Japan. He has been living in Singapore for over 5 years. According to Bloomberg, Dell has based a substantial part of its operations in Singapore for purposes of tax optimization. Mr. Davis is seen standing in the Maxwell Food Court. Singapore

The lobby of Ernst & Young’s headquarters in London. E&Y is one of the “Big Four” audit firms. It has 190,000 employees and more than 700 offices in over 150 countries. It is the third-largest professional services firm in the world by aggregated revenue. The “Big Four” (PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and E&Y) are often accused of being the backbone of offshore finance and aggressive tax avoidance strategies. They collectively audit 99% of FTSE 100 companies. City of London

Alain Craig (on the right) and his friend Anthony Lawson, with Mr. Craig’s convertible Maserati. Mr. Lawson is a Caymanian real-estate agent and Mr. Craig, who is from Britain, works in the islands’ thriving hedge fund industry. They have come to visit Al Thompson, who is standing in the background in front of his house. Mr. Thompson is the biggest importer of building materials to the Cayman Islands. Grand Cayman

In downtown St. Helier, a mural depicts a stylized map of the Island of Jersey. The main industries used to be tourism and agriculture. However, the offshore financial sector has taken over and today Jersey warehouses nearly $2 trillion of the world’s wealth. 42 banking groups are present on this island of only 8 x 15 km. Jersey

At Madame Tussauds in Hong Kong, visitors love to have their pictures taken with the wax statues of the Queen of England and her husband, Prince Philip. Hong Kong was a British colony for 156 years, until 1997, when sovereignty was transferred from the United Kingdom to the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong

Under Jersey’s “High value residency scheme,” individuals who earn at least one million dollars a year are actively encouraged to relocate to the Island and are automatically given residential status, so that they can immediately benefit from the Island’s very low tax regime. Jersey’s branch of the real estate group Savills serves this kind of clientele, with listings like La Glinette farm in St. Brelade with an asking price of $11 million. Jersey

A $100-bill towel at Rehoboth Beach, a popular vacation destination for businessmen from Washington DC. Delaware.

Naval El Farveisa, 29, and his bride-to-be pose for their pre-wedding photos in front of the Marina Bay Sands Hotel that hosts one of the world’s biggest Casinos. Mr. El Farveisa is a Jakarta-based architect who regularly works in Singapore. Pre-wedding photo shoots are common for Indonesians. Singapore

Girls from a local school play volleyball on the beach in Sentosa, an island resort that defines itself as “Asia’s favorite playground.” Dozens of tankers are anchored just off the coast in the Singapore Strait. Local traders joke that they can keep track of the fluctuations of the market simply by looking at the number of oil tankers waiting to unload at the mouth of the harbor. Singapore

A group of young students pass in front of One Hyde Park, a residential building designed by Lord Richard Rogers. It consists of 80 hyper-luxury apartments in central London which have broken world record prices per square foot, with one reportedly selling for $214 million. Most of the apartments are in the names of anonymous offshore entities, the majority of which are registered in tax havens like the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Liechtenstein, and the Isle of Man. The Candy brothers (Nick and Christian) are the high-end developers behind the project, through Project Grande, a joint venture based in Guernsey. In 2013, 85% of new houses in London were sold to non-UK buyers. Nick Candy reportedly declared: “[London] is the top city in the world, and the best tax haven in the world for some.” London

One hour south of Luanda lies the 18-hole Mangais championship golf course, host to PGA tournaments. Mercer, a leading financial analysis firm, ranks Luanda as the most expensive city in the world. This is despite the fact that two-thirds of Angola’s population lives on less than $2 a day and 150,000 children die before the age of 5 each year, from causes linked to poverty. Over 98% of Angola’s exports come from oil or diamonds. Researchers James Boyce and Léonce Ndikumana showed that Angola suffered $80 billion in capital flight from 1970-2008, with most of the money ending up in tax havens. Angola.

At the Marina Bay Sands Conference Center, attendees of the “Asia-Pacific Tax Symposiums and Transfer Pricing Forum,” organized by Ernst & Young, one of the “Big Four” global accounting firms, have a coffee break. At this forum, executives from all over the world learn about “tax optimization in an increasingly complex tax environment.” Singapore

The construction of a new skyscraper is underway in the Punta Pacifica neighborhood of Panama City. The capital is experiencing a construction boom which, over just a few years, has left its skyline unrecognizable. However, there are hundreds of empty apartments and offices in Panama, part of a real-estate bubble that most observers agree is fueled by drug money from Colombia and Venezuela, laundered through property in Panama. Panama

Joe B. of Alliance Tattoo has the outline of Delaware inked on his hand. “No matter what the economy is, people will still buy liquor and get tattoos,” he affirms. Newark, Delaware.

A native Guna walks by a group of affluent Panamanians spending the weekend on the San Blas Islands. The archipelago of 365 islands, a popular tourist destination, is home to the Guna Indians, one of Panama’s indigenous groups. The Guna have lived on the islands since they were driven from Panama during the Spanish invasion. They have their own language and social organization and very rarely mix with other Panamanians. Panama.

A woman who has just purchased some Zara clothing walks by ITX Merken, a nondescript subsidiary of Inditex, Zara’s parent company, in Amsterdam. According to Bloomberg, Inditex, the world’s largest fashion retailer, has shifted almost $2 billion in profits to this tiny unit operating in the Netherlands. Although this subsidiary employs only about 0.1 percent of Inditex’s worldwide workforce, it reported almost 20 percent of the parent company’s global profits in 2013. The Netherlands

An employee from Myanmar works in one of the recreational spaces at the Google company offices in Singapore. Google avoided about $2 billion in worldwide income taxes in 2011 by shifting $9.8 billion in revenue into tax haven shell companies, almost double the total from three years earlier. Reacting to criticism, Eric Schmidt, the executive chairman of Google, declared to Bloomberg in 2012, “I am very proud of the structure that we set up. It’s called capitalism. We are proudly capitalistic. I’m not confused about this.” Singapore

An employee of the five-star Riu Plaza stands on the roof of the hotel. In the background is the “El Tornillo” tower, which has become the symbol of Panama and can be seen everywhere, from liquor advertisements to souvenirs. The landmark building was completed in 2011, but most of the floors remain unfurnished and unoccupied. Hundreds of apartments and offices are empty in Panama, part of a real-estate bubble that most observers agree is fueled by drug money from Colombia and Venezuela, laundered through property in Panama. Panama

An employee of an American company based in Panama looks out over the ever-changing skyline of Panama city from an empty floor of the “El Tornillo” tower. “El Tornillo” has become the symbol of Panama and can be seen everywhere, from liquor advertisements to souvenirs. This landmark building was completed in 2011, but most of the floors remain unfurnished and unoccupied. Hundreds of apartments and offices are empty in Panama, part of a real-estate bubble that most observers agree is fueled by drug money from Colombia and Venezuela, laundered through property in Panama. Panama

Amsterdam’s Herengracht 566’s mailbox called U2 Limited, is where Bono and his band U2 have moved a big part of their multi-million dollar business ($195 million in 2011) to avoid paying taxes in Ireland. The tax rate on royalty earnings in the Netherlands is close to zero. Bono has been a vocal campaigner for third-world debt relief and to raise awareness of poverty in Africa. According to a report by the tax campaign group Publish What You Pay Norway, more than a third of the subsidiaries owned by major energy and mining companies, including Shell, BP and Glencore, are in "secrecy jurisdictions," where company accounts are not publicly available. The report singled out the Netherlands as the second-favorite home for extractive industry companies that operate in Africa. The Netherlands

Mr. Adolfo Enrique Linares in his office in Punta del Este. Mr. Linares is a partner in the law firm of Tapia Linares y Alfaro. The firm handles incorporation and management of companies in Panama, as well as in other jurisdictions such as the British Virgin Islands and Belize. Mr. Linares is a vocal advocate of Panama’s right to operate the financial policy of its choosing, even if the OECD classifies it as a tax haven. Panama

Bicycle parking lot in Zuid, a growing financial center on the edge of the city of Amsterdam where thousands of empty mailbox companies used to avoid tax are located. The Netherlands is one of the biggest enablers of aggressive corporate tax avoidance and has built a booming industry around promoting and selling Dutch tax services to global companies. According to many specialists, the Netherlands – which has a suite of offerings to cut corporate taxes on, among others, interest, royalties, dividend and capital gains income from foreign subsidiaries, – is a tax haven. The Netherlands.

A Filipino employee in the underground parking garage of a luxury residence in Sentosa Cove, one of the most desirable addresses in Singapore, speaks with a colleague by radio. The walls of the parking garage are decorated with commissioned and impeccably executed graffiti featuring slogans such as “Shop!”, “Work!”, and “Detox!”. Unsanctioned graffiti is strictly forbidden in Singapore and offenders are sentenced to prison and caning. Singapore

The entrance of Ocean Sun Casino, the largest such establishment in Panama. It is part of the Trump Ocean Club, a giant complex that describes itself as offering “a lifestyle of unrivalled luxury and privilege in the most dynamic city in the Americas.” In addition to the Casino, it offers luxury residences, a hotel, swimming pools, multiple restaurants, fitness centres, a high-end retail arcade, and Panama City’s only private pier. Panama.

A technician works on a rack at C5’s server in Guernsey. C5’s facility provides businesses with a secure, temperature-controlled environment with double emergency power back-ups, cooling systems and ultra-fast fiber optic connection. This high-capacity server provides hosting to hundreds of eGaming companies based in the neighboring Channel Island of Alderney. Through this data center, Alderney transmits more Internet e-gambling traffic than any other location on the globe. Its business is much larger than the combined activity of its three offshore rivals: Gibraltar, the Isle of Man and Malta. For gambling groups, the principal attraction of Alderney is that there are no gambling or corporation taxes. One of the companies that was based in Alderney is the infamous Full Tilt Poker, accused by the U.S. Justice Department of defrauding online poker players out of more than $300 million in 2011. Guernsey

Lam Po Yin, 48, sitting in the cage home he rents. All his earthly possessions are around him. Hong Kong is an ostensibly rich city, but statistics show that 20% of the population lives below the poverty line and over 100,000 have inadequate shelter. Many of these are elderly people without retirement benefits who live in cage homes and wood-partitioned cubicles so small that tenants can barely lie down. Hong Kong

Alain Vandenborre stands in one of his high-security vaults in the basement of the Singapore Freeport. He is showing one of the diamonds, worth $300,000, from his collection. Mr. Vandenborre is one of the co-founders of the Singapore Freeport and currently the head of the Singapore Diamond Exchange. Many major companies are based at the Singapore Freeport, including Malca-Amit, Christie’s, Deutsche Bank and Brink’s. Singapore

The Sevva Club attracts a crowd of executives and managers from Hong Kong’s financial district, who come here to unwind. The sweeping vista from the club terrace takes in the HSBC building designed by Norman Foster, where, even late into the evening, employees can be seen at their desks. HSBC, one of the world’s largest banks, was founded in Hong Kong. It has been embroiled in various scandals involving money laundering and offshore dealings, which led to a record $1.9 billion fine in the US in 2012. HSBC was recently involved in the Swiss Leaks scandal, where it allegedly profited from 180.6 billion euros that passed through its secret accounts held by, amongst others, corrupt politicians, dictators, tax evaders, arms dealers and blood-diamond smugglers. Hong Kong.

Twins Maxine Ethel and Maureen Helen Bodden stand in front of the Christmas light display they create in their garden every year. The Boddens, who are one of the Caymans’ oldest families, run an array of different business, ranging in diversity from aircraft registration to the island’s main funeral home. They have been honored by the Queen of England for services to the people of the Cayman Islands, especially the poor and needy. Grand Cayman

Christian Pauli opens a high-security vault at the Singapore Freeport. One of the most secure places on Earth, the Freeport has biometric recognition, more then 200 cameras, vibration detection technology, Nitrogen fire extinguishers and seven-tonne doors Mr. Pauli is the General Manager of Fine Art Logistics NLC, an art handling company involved in running and setting up Freeport security vaults around the world including in Monaco, Geneva and Luxembourg. Singapore

Nicole, 34, from the Philippines, works for a Singaporean family as a maid. On her day off, she prostitutes herself, picking up men at the Orchard Towers shopping center. Just like hundreds of other Filipinas, she is earning extra money to send back home. On the day when she works as a prostitute, she can make as much as she does in a month working as a maid. She is photographed in a hotel room where she brings her clients. The government in Singapore has recently passed a law that will require employers to give their “Foreign Domestic Workers” a minimum wage and one day off a week. Although the legislation passed, polls in Singapore have shown that a majority of the population was against it. Singapore

A moonlit view of the tide coming in, seen from the 66th floor of the Trump Ocean Club. A luxury yacht, owned by the complex, is anchored just in front, awaiting clients who might wish to go the hotel’s private beach in the Pearl Islands, about an hour away.The giant complex owned by Donald Trump offers “a lifestyle of unrivaled luxury and privilege in the most dynamic city in the Americas.” It boast luxury residences, a hotel, swimming pools, multiple restaurants, fitness centers, a high-end retail arcade, and Panama City’s only private pier. Panama

A premium casino for high rollers is situated on the 66th floor of the Trump Ocean Club. It has its own restaurant, bar and swimming pool, where one can swim with panoramic views of the city. A great number of the apartments in the skyscrapers of Panama are dark because they are not occupied. This is the result of a real-estate bubble that most observers agree is fueled by drug money from Colombia and Venezuela, laundered through property in Panama. Panama