Dutch to English Other Idioms / Maxims / Sayings

I know this refers literally to shadow play or shadow puppets, but I can't think of the right register for translating its figurative sense in "Dit is een schimmenspel". I see it used in newspapers a lot about various efforts by politicians, etc to obfuscate things.

It comes up in a series of notes exchanged by two people discussing a potential business manoeuvre. As the text is to be used for legal purposes (I presume), I want to be sure not to translate it more harshly than intended (though there is almost no context apart from what I have indicated).

This is an illusion? Hoodwinking?