New from KI
Reforming Foreign Agents: Casey Michel talks to Craig Holman, Government Affairs Lobbyist for Public Citizen, about how the U.S. can reinforce its foreign lobbying laws – and why it matters now more than ever.
The Other Immigration Crisis: Belinda Li talks to Seto Bagdoyan of the Government Accountability Office, about how the EB-5 visa program is being abused by kleptocrats.
Russia
- Rosneft’s so-called privatization just keeps getting murkier, says Karina Orlova. (American Interest)
- Arkady Rotenburg’s firm won a $285 million state contract to build a railway to Crimea. (Moscow Times)
- Russia says it will not comply with a European Court of Human Rights rulingawarding Yukos shareholders $2 billion. (RFE/RL)
China
- A summary of estimates of China’s illicit capital flows suggests $2 trillion has been exported illegally. (AML Law)
- China approved new anti-corruption rules designed to standardize procedures – but critics say they concentrate power in Xi Jinping’s hands. (VoA)
- A new Kroll survey found that a record nine out of ten Chinese companies encountered graft last year. (SCMP)
- A Chinese province admitted to falsifying its financial data. (FT)
United States
- How will the Trump presidency affect transparency efforts in the U.S. and globally? (National Law Journal)
- Donald Trump’s businesses give rise to more than 500 potential conflicts of interest as he is sworn in as U.S. president. (WSJ)
- Steven Mnuchin, Trump’s Treasury nominee, allegedly failed to disclose $100 million in assets and his use of offshore entities. (NYT)
- Donald Trump’s approach to economics runs the risk of crony capitalism, says Matt Philips. (VICE)
- An aide to Donald Trump discussed joint investments with a Russian firm under U.S. sanctions in Davos. (Reuters)
- The FBI and other agencies are investigating whether money from the Kremlin covertly aided Trump’s campaign. (McClatchy)
- Canada’s new foreign minister rejected a Russian offer to lift her travel ban in exchange for dropping sanctions. (Globe & Mail)
Europe
- Rolls-Royce paid $830 million to settle a bribery probe by UK and U.S. prosecutors. (FT)
- Jamie Doward investigates how Britain’s scramble to attract wealthy foreigners was accompanied by a flood of criminals and dirty cash. (Guardian)
- The European Parliament rejected an official blacklist of countries that pose money laundering risks; legislators said it was too short. (Reuters)
- The UK government will review Scottish limited partnerships, a type of company which has been extensively implicated in global money laundering schemes. (Holyrood)
Central Asia
- Gulnara Karimova, daughter of the late Uzbekistan leader Islam Karimov, has not been heard from for months – but Swiss prosecutors recently questioned her about her role in a major international bribery scandal. (WSJ)
Global
- Illicit financial flows are complicated – we should remember that when discussing aid payments, writes Maya Forstater. (Guardian)
