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I don't think it takes long for word to spread. Once privacy is comprised your window of opportunity probably closes pretty quickly. Even a hint of government

• wahern 8y ago
  Swiss banks were still used for the 1MDB operation, which involved Saudi Arabian intermediaries who 1) presumably understood the limits to Swiss secrecy and 2) probably ran in the same circles as those associated with militant organizations. And that began after the Bush administration. Moving transactions to other systems is also risky for the bad guys, in terms of higher transaction costs and less predictability regarding the degree of confidentiality. It's like in computer security--you can't defend against an omnipotent attacker, rather you have to make some assumptions about your visibility and desirability as a target vs the strength of defenses. Choosing to go with some new, untested service may make you invisible or may leave you a sitting duck; how can you know? Moreover, while organizations like Al Qaeda would have steered absolutely clear of the normal system, they benefit when more money moves via the darkest channels. They benefit from improved consistency, reliability, liquidity, and cover traffic.