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TIL that gold bars are prominently stamped with traceable serial numbers.
In unrelated news, I will no longer be accepting gold bars as payment for bribes. I apologize for any inconvenience.
Gold bars are actually a less dense store of value (by weight) than cash, but it's fairly close. Gold is ~$61/gram today, while cash is ~$100/gram (in USD100 bills, the highest circulating denomination).
In addition to the density advantage, cash has a significant liquidity benefit, especially if you're going on the lam in a hurry. While it might raise some eyebrows if you show up at the airport and use a bag full of cash to buy a ticket to some country without an extradition agreement, trying that with gold bars is definitely going to require some serious explaining.
So what's the best way for an entrepreneurial senator to stash their ill-gotten gains? You probably want *some* cash for laming-it level liquidity, but not so much that it looks inherently incriminating in the post-indictment press conference if things go bad.
I'd probably go with moderately valuable art (but nothing TOO rare or recognizable - no Vermeers, etc.). Lots of well off people have art, and sometimes it appreciates in value. Just make sure you have time to sell it in a pinch.
Some #pharmaceuticals have prices that exceed $50k per #gram of active ingredient. A small bottle of "water" could smuggle your whole fortune, if you had a connection at your destination willing to take it, and you were willing to take whatever haircut that involved.