KI’s weekly round-up of leading news and features.
United States
- KI’s Natalie Duffy and Nate Sibley examine five myths about kleptocracy. (WaPo)
- 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)
- For KI, Casey Michel talked to Meredith McGehee, Strategic Advisor at the Campaign Legal Center, about how the Office of Congressional Ethics protects American democracy against corruption–both foreign and domestic.
- The top U.S. intelligence official told a Senate hearing that Russia’s interference in the election included hacking, propaganda, and fake news, while President-elect Donald Trump and Julian Assange remain skeptical. (WaPo, NYT)
- A U.S. intelligence report includes intercepted communications showing that senior Russian officials celebrated Trump’s election victory as a win for Moscow. It also identifies actors believed to have passed hacked data to WikiLeaks. (WaPo)
- Ana Swanson talks to James Henry about how anonymous companies work – and who’s been using them. (WaPo)
Europe
- Ben Judah explains how London rolls out the blood-red carpet for violent kleptocrats like the Bakiyev family. (NYT)
- How did a retired British journalist uncover the 1MDB scandal from the other side of the world? (Time)
- 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)
- Italy’s Five Star Movement has joined the growing number of populist parties cosying up to the Kremlin. (Guardian)
Russia
- “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)
- David Kramer asks what more the U.S. and Europe can do to counter the Kremlin assault on democratic institutions. (Politico)
- Otkritie, a private Russian bank, doubled its assets overnight after loans from the central bank. (FT)
China
- China says its overseas anti-corruption drive recovered $331 million from 908 people in 70 countries in 2016. (Reuters)
- Jamil Anderlini assesses the political costs of Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive. (FT)
- A Chinese billionaire awaiting trial on bribery charges lives without bail in a gilded cage in Manhattan. (NYT)
