SUSTAINING THE MOMENTUM: COUNTERING KLEPTOCRACY IN RUSSIA AND BEYOND
The International Forum hosted a conversation with Shannon N. Green, Nikita Kulachenkov, Nate Sibley, and Paul Massaro on how to sustain momentum in the battle against kleptocracy after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Despite the dramatic and unified response sanctioning Russian oligarchs at the outset of the invasion, it is no longer clear whether bold words will lead to necessary actions to finish the fight against kleptocracy that fueled the conflict and is at the heart of the corrosive engagement pursued by autocratic regimes around the world. As the conflict continues and winter approaches, inflation, refugees, and energy shortages will surely test this unity.
The democratic community has called for increasing transparency in the U.S. financial sector, leveraging sanctions against malign actors, and connecting anti-kleptocracy across sectors with promising first steps. The Biden Administration released a presidential memorandum identifying corruption as a core national security threat, the U.S. Agency for International Development launched the Dekleptification Guide: Seizing Windows of Opportunity to Dismantle Kleptocracy, and legislation is pending on Capitol Hill focusing on the professions in open societies that enable kleptocrats to hide their illicit resources. Ahead of the next Summit for Democracy in 2023, how can democracies sustain the momentum against kleptocracy and build comprehensive strategies to address this critical global challenge?
FEATURING
Shannon N. Green, Executive Director of the Anti-Corruption Task Force, U.S. Agency for International Development
Nikita Kulachenkov, Independent Anti-Corruption Investigator
Nate Sibley, Research Fellow, Hudson Institute’s Kleptocracy Initiative
WITH COMMENTS FROM CAPITOL HILL BY
Paul Massaro, Senior Policy Advisor, U.S. Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (The views expressed here are his own and do not represent an official position of the U.S. government.)