Biggest tax haven in U.S.? South Dakota, says Pandora Papers investigation

Mention tax havens, and most people imagine small nations with balmy weather: The Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Malta. 

But South Dakota and a handful of other U.S. states are increasingly competing as landing pads for global capital hidden from creditors, tax collectors and law enforcement, according to an investigation published by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. 

The sparsely populated state best known as the home of Mount Rushmore now houses $360 billion in trusts, the ICIJ reported — an amount that has quadrupled in the past decade. One local company, the South Dakota Trust Company, has international clients from 54 nations. Another, Trident Trust, speaks of the "South Dakota Advantage."