“The idea of the West as a community of values is critically threatened.”
Charles Davidson, KI’s Executive Director, testified before a House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Corruption: A Danger to Democracy in Europe and Eurasia.
New from KI
- Nate Sibley says Trump’s proposed lobbying reforms won’t be enough to curtail kleptocratic influence in DC.
- Professor Minxin Pei will discuss his new book, China’s Crony Capitalism, with KI and a distinguished panel at Hudson Institute on Wednesday. Register to attend.
Global
- Global Financial Integrity found that developing countries lost $16.3 trillion in unrecorded financial flows since 1980, making them net creditors to the global economy.
United States
- Congress passed the Global Magnitsky Act as part of a major defense bill. If signed by the president, it will enable the U.S. to target human rights abusers and corrupt officials with sanctions. A formal complaint was lodged about alleged pro-Russian lobbying against the legislation. (WSJ, Politico)
- A ProPublica investigation shows how the U.S. has become a safe haven for foreign officials fleeing corruption allegations.
Russia
- Senior Republican politicians plan a wide-ranging probe of Russian meddling in U.S. politics. (WaPo)
- A GOP congressman said Russia’s record as a serious human rights abuser was “baloney.” (WaPo)
- Qatar and Glencore’s acquisition of a 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft is a triumph for Putin over Western sanctions, says Leonid Bershidsky. (Bloomberg)
China
- Torture in secret prisons: CNN looks at the dark side of Xi’s anti-corruption campaign.
- China is placing further restrictions on human and capital flight. (Reuters)
- Accounting sleights mean Chinese banks may be hiding $2 trillion in loans. (WSJ)
- China has been stealing large amounts of data from top U.S. law firms. (Fortune)
Western Europe
- A “Magnitsky” amendment to the UK’s Criminal Finances Bill would enable asset seizures against human rights abusers. (Guardian)
- Transparency International found that 44,022 London properties are owned by foreign anonymous companies, 91 percent of which were based in secrecy jurisdictions.
- A shabby printing shop in central London is the registered address of 1,600 companies. “We have no idea who they are,” says the manager. (Reuters)
- A prestigious UK bank offered offshore services to a Brunei prince accused of stealing from his country. (Guardian)
Eastern Europe & Baltics
- Oleksandr Onyshchenko’s corruption allegations against President Poroshenko extend to the U.S., and have been vigorously denied by officials. (RFE/RL)
- After exposing corruption, Sergii Leshchenko is being targeted by prosecutors. (Kyiv Post)
- Jaba Devdariani writes that, between Russia and Europe, oligarchs rule. (Carnegie)
- Estonia adopted its own “Magnitsky” law against human rights violators. (UpNorth)
Central Asia
- Casey Michel looks at the Westerners whitewashing Uzbekistan’s elections. (Diplomat)
Central America
- Panama is struggling to shed its image as a magnet for shady deals. (NYT)
