Holding company Merit (Any)

Holding Company (Merit: 1-5 Prerequisite: Resources 3+)

Many people over the years have looked to various bits of chicanery in order to prevent other people from knowing exactly who's spending the money and HOW the money is being spent.

Holding Company is essentially a means to obfuscate a persons personal business dealings. Each Dot of Holding Company subtracts 2 successes from investigation rolls directed at trying to find out anything about a company or a person's personal finances. Since this usually is a contested roll and may involve collecting successes, It may not HALT such investigations completely, but it will definitely slow them down and in almost all cases, allow the target to know he or she is being investigated.  It involves things like shell corporations, stock and bond manipulations, false identities, and other forms of corporate subterfuge and can take a bewildering number of forms.

This may not seem like much to be spending points on until you realize that it will protect your finances from attack and make it impossible to connect you to ownership of your Haven.

* Paper thin: Cursory net research won't turn up much, but anything beyond that will probably punch a hole in your front companies.

** Open Secret: Your money is fairly safe from internet snooping, but the right sort of influence might still flush you out.

*** Closed Secret: "Oh look. I think they're trying to indict me. How adorable!"

**** Under the rose: The barest minimum is on paper and that's usually locked up tight in the lawyers safe. It's also written in Sanskrit. You may not even be aware of who actually owns your properties "On Paper". It's safer for them really.

***** The clouded mind sees nothing: It would take a dedicated team of highly trained and motivated forensic accountants years to untangle your shadowy empire. And that only if the had an unlimited supply of Pepto Bismoll…And even then it's a crap shoot.