Josh Rudolph on Beneficial Ownership Legislation in The American Interest
ASD Fellow for Malign Finance discusses the bipartisan promise of new beneficial ownership legislation introduced in the Senate in The American Interest. [...]
Jessica Brandt and Joshua Rudolph on a New National Security Framework for Foreign Interference
ASD Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt and Malign Finance Fellow Joshua Rudolph argue for a new, holistic campaign finance framework for countering foreign political contributions. [...]
EU Foreign Investment Screening – At Last, a Start
In March, the European Union passed a regulation, the most binding legal instrument at its disposal, to strengthen foreign-investment screening processes throughout the union. The law came into force in April, and member states have until October 20 [...]
The G7 Should Redouble Efforts to Stop Covert Foreign Money
This article was originally published as a German Marshall Fund Transatlantic Take on August 22, 2019. This weekend may be the first time in the history of the G7 that the group meets without agreeing on a joint statement. That’s partly because t [...]
Josh Kirschenbaum on Closing Illicit Finance Loopholes in The American Interest
Using the analogy of a front and a back door, ASD's Josh Kirschenbaum explains that while the U.S. Government has been assiduous in anti-money-laundering enforcement against banks, it has been lax in its AML enforcement against electronic payments c [...]
Laura Rosenberger Discusses Russia’s Use of Economic Coercion with Rachel Maddow on MSNBC
ASD Director Laura Rosenberger appeared on the Rachel Maddow Show to discuss Russian economic coercion and malign financial influence. [...]
Massive Russian Financial Flows Through Moldova Show Small Jurisdictions Matter
This article was originally published as a German Marshall Fund Transatlantic Take on July 26, 2019. In 2014 the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed a staggering Russian money-laundering operation perpetrated through [...]
Mueller Hearings: Policy Recommendations on Combatting Foreign Interference
In his testimony this week, former Special Counsel Robert Mueller III reiterated that foreign interference is “among the most serious” challenges to democracy, and that it “deserves the attention of every American.” The Alliance for Securing Democr [...]
Will Greece’s New Government Resist Authoritarian Influence or Court It?
On July 7, Greeks voted in national elections to replace Alexis Tsipras and his ruling left-wing Syriza party with Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ right-wing New Democracy. Mitsotakis’ party platform promises to re-energize the Greek economy and attract new in [...]
Jessica Brandt on Italy’s Russian Financing Scandal in Axios
ASD Head of Policy and Research Jessica Brandt writes about the unfolding scandal of Russian financing of Italy's major far-right party La Lega in Axios. [...]
Caught Red Handed: Russian Financing Scheme in Italy Highlights Europe’s Vulnerabilities
In February 2019, two Italian investigative journalists made an explosive revelation: Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right party La Lega and Italian interior minister, had sought financing from the Kremlin to the tune of millions of euros. That c [...]
Joshua Kirschenbaum on a Panel at Brussels Forum 2019: “Illicit Financing and Foreign Influence”
ASD Senior Fellow for Malign Finance Joshua Kirschenbaum joined Jesper Berg, Director General of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, and Evika Silina, Parlimentary Secretary to the Prime Minister of Latvia on a panel at the German Marshall F [...]
Questions Lawmakers Should Ask at the June 19th Hearing on Kleptocracy
On Wednesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to discuss ways to combat kleptocracy through financial reforms such as beneficial ownership and money laundering. Beneficial ownership is particularly important because kleptocrats an [...]
Josh Rudolph on Beneficial Ownership in The Hill
ASD Fellow for Malign Finance Josh Rudolph argues in The Hill that the U.S. government that beneficial ownership legislation banning anonymous shell companies would help defend America from foreign interference. [...]
Questions Lawmakers Should Ask at the June 20th Hearing on Beneficial Ownership
Today, the Senate Banking Committee will hear outside perspectives on the collection of beneficial ownership information. This hearing is well-timed, as momentum is building in both the House and the Senate to outlaw anonymous shell companies. For e [...]
Italy’s Risky Realignment
Every Italian learns about Marco Polo, a young merchant who left his native Venice in 1271, travelled to China, and returned home twenty-four years later with riches and treasure. Today, Italy’s government is betting that moving closer to Beijing wi [...]
Joshua Kirschenbaum on FATF’s Evaluation of Russia at the NYU School of Law
ASD Senior Fellow Joshua Kirschenbaum and GWU's Jennifer DeNardis discuss the recent Financial Action Task Force evaluation of Russia with the Program on Compliance and Enforcement at the NYU School of Law. "Russia in recent years has been the most [...]
Illicit Influence – Part One – A Case Study of the First Czech Russian Bank
Introduction In the spring of 2016, as the Russian-domiciled First Czech Russian Bank (FCRB) approached insolvency, staff worked feverishly to erase ledgers, destroy documents, and conceal evidence of the bank’s activity over the previous 9 years. [...]
Foreign Funding Threats to the EU’s 2019 Elections
The European Union fears that foreign interference could mar the European Parliament elections in May 2019, but leaders have thus far failed to address a major vulnerability, namely that foreign money can flow unimpeded into campaigns in a number of [...]
Europe Needs Money Laundering Penalties That Hurt
The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service announced on September 4 that ING Bank, the country’s largest financial institution, had reached a settlement worth the equivalent of $900 million for money laundering violations committed between 20 [...]