The United States of America often seems to be synonymous with the dictum “don’t do what I do, do as I say”.

And this is exemplified by its contribution to cracking down on the use of trusts and other asset protection structures to shelter the proceeds of crime or act as tax evasion devices.

Courtesy of the actions of former UBS banker Bradley Birkenfield, the subsequent passing of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in 2010 and its browbeating of both its government and banks the US effectively put an end to Swiss bank secrecy.

But it appears to have done little, if anything, to put its own h...