Authoritarian regimes like Russia and China use malign finance—the funding of foreign political parties, candidates, campaigns, well-connected elites, or politically influential groups, often through non-transparent structures designed to obfuscate ties to a nation state or its proxies—to interfere in democracies. Find ASD’s work on malign finance and the threat it poses to democracy on this page.
Interference Matters
Russia Is Still Finding Willing Partners Throughout Europe
Defend Democracy the Australian Way
This article was originally published as a GMF Transatlantic Take on July 23, 2020. With mounting evidence that Russia regularly interferes in British democracy while the U.K. government “actively avoids” investigating, the country needs a proven pl [...]
A Note on Coming Updates to the Authoritarian Interference Tracker
The Alliance for Securing Democracy’s Authoritarian Interference Tracker maps and catalogs over 400 instances of Russian state-sponsored efforts to undermine democracy in over 40 countries. The Tracker documents five tools authoritarian regimes use [...]
Germany’s Faustian Bargain on Trade with China
Walking around China, the ubiquity of German cars on Chinese streets is astounding. Audi and Mercedes are everywhere in affluent cities; Volkswagens take their place in smaller municipalities. This anecdotal observation is reflected in the spectacul [...]
Josh Kirschenbaum on Europe’s Anti-Money Laundering Authority in PIIE
The European Commission "should act fast to capitalize on the political momentum toward creating a central AML [anti-money laundering] supervisory authority," Senior Fellow Josh Kirschenbaum writes with Nicolas Veron in PIIE. Kirschenbaum and Veron [...]
Russian Malign Finance and U.S. Economic Statecraft: The Indirect Approach
There is an emerging recognition in Western capitals that Russian strategic economic coercion and malign financial activity threaten to undermine the rule of law, weaken democracy, and meaningfully affect American and European politics. This underst [...]
Josh Kirschenbaum on the Latest Step Toward Combating Money Laundering in Europe in PIIE
The joint position paper published by the finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, the Netherlands and Spain on November 8 is likely to pave the way for strong European Union legislation, ASD's Josh Kirschenbaum writes with Nicolas Veron [...]
Josh Rudolph on the Diplomatic Importance of Transatlantic Economic Sanctions against Russia in the Hill
Transatlantic sanctions from the United States and Europe put real pressure on Russia to curb its aggression. American political leaders should urge Europe to refrain from lifting economic sanctions on Russia at this point in time and should signal [...]
Josh Kirschenbaum on Illicit Finance and National Security for the Stockholm Free World Forum
Success in countering illicit financial activity will entail a change in mentality, better information sharing, and closer coordination within governments and across borders, Senior Fellow Joshua Kirschenbaum asserted in a brief for Frivarld, the St [...]
Josh Rudolph talks to CIPE about Malign Finance Loopholes
Fellow for Malign Finance Josh Rudolph discussed the issue of party financing from foreign resources on The Center for International Enterprise's podcast, Democracy that Delivers. [...]
Josh Rudolph Discusses Covert Foreign Money in Democracy on Hudson Institute Panel
It is now abundantly clear that covert foreign money gets weaponized against our democracy, Fellow on Malign Finance Josh Rudolph said on a Hudson Institute panel titled "Securing America's Financial Borders." [...]
Josh Rudolph on Campaign Finance Enforcement in Just Security
ASD Fellow for Malign Finance Josh Rudolph writes in Just Security about the need for a holistic national security approach to campaign finance enforcement, in light of the recent arrest of two businessmen charged with funneling foreign donations to [...]
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. [...]