Op, I see what you are getting at, you are just pointing out that even common criminals manage to keep their shit secret, so why do we then think we have somehow "figured out" the Illumaniti.

I mostly agree, I think that "The Illumaniti" is a psy-op.

I'm going to repost what I wrote in another thread because it is exactly about this topic:

"The Illumaniti", as the catch-all single group that runs everything, is a psy-op orchestrated by TPTB. The Bavarian Illumaniti being "exposed" was a psyop. There is no "Illumaniti" per se.

There are however, occult groups which practice "illumanition". And TPTB are all occult secret societies. This world is run by and controlled by secrecy.

So in a sense "The Illumaniti" is just as real as we think, because the groups which do run society are occult in nature, and they absolutly embody all of the elements that are commonly associated with "The Illumaniti".