New Year Must-Reads
- Ben Judah explains how London rolls out the blood-red carpet for violent kleptocrats like the Bakiyev family. (NYT)
- How does the U.S. Justice Department’s Kleptocracy Asset Recovery Initiative ensure that frozen funds aren’t repatriated back into the pockets of corrupt dictators? (NYT)
- Ana Swanson talks to James Henry about how anonymous companies work - and who’s been using them. (WaPo)
News
- House Republicans voted to curtail the power and independence of the Office of Congressional Ethics. (NYT)
- China says its overseas anti-corruption drive recovered $331 million from 908 people in 70 countries in 2016. (Reuters)
- A French corruption trial revealed the wealth of the Equatorial Guinean president’s son. (Guardian)
- Switzerland is taking further steps to end its status as a secrecy jurisdiction. (FT)
- An Italian politician was allegedly bribed by Azerbaijan using UK anonymous companies, to suppress a human rights report before a major pipeline deal. (Guardian)
- France’s National Front is looking “everywhere” for $21 million campaign funding - including Russia. (ABC)
- Prosecutors are unlikely to weaken enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, despite criticisms by President-elect Donald Trump. (FT)
- Otkritie, a private Russian bank, doubled its assets overnight after loans from the central bank. (FT)
- Teva, a U.S. pharmaceuticals giant, will pay $519 million to settle bribery charges relating to Russia, Ukraine, and Mexico. (WSJ)
Features
- “When we stop fighting for our ideals abroad, we stop fighting for them at home.” Molly McKew on Putin’s long game and the new Cold War. (Politico)
- The U.S. continues to be a global policeman for financial crime. (France 24)
- KI’s Natalie Duffy recounts 2016’s five most significant online censorship developments in Russia. (Global Voices)
