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
Zack Cooper in Washington Examiner: How to Tame China
The various shortages caused by problems with the global supply chain have provided the latest boost in momentum for an increasingly popular idea in Washington: making the American economy less dependent on China. What policymakers refer to as “sele [...]
The Five Great Enabler Nations
Key Point Consolidating the international consensus that the professional enablers of corruption should be required to watch out for dirty money would require landmark reform initiatives—split roughly evenly between enacting new rules and enforcing [...]
Josh Rudolph Discusses the Pandora Papers on C-SPAN
Alliance for Securing Democracy Malign Finance Fellow Josh Rudolph discusses the “Pandora Papers” and the federal legislative response. [...]
Kristine Berzina Discusses High Gas Prices in Europe and Gazprom on BBC
U.K. and European natural gas prices have been swinging, but they abruptly decreased as Russian President Putin suggested Gazprom may increase its gas supply to Europe. Senior Fellow Kristine Berzina joined BBC Newshour to discuss. Listen at 18:18 [...]
Josh Rudolph in Just Security: Closing Pandora’s Box
Leaked Papers Expose Need for US to Act on Enablers of Dirty Money The U.S. government should respond to the Pandora Papers – an investigation by a group of news media outlets based on 11.9 million private financial records – with sweeping and forc [...]
Curbing Enablers: A Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance
The professional services offered by the US and UK remain an Achilles’ heel in the fight against illicit finance. This discussion will consider how London and Washington can make a step-change in combatting these facilitators. Criminals, malign acto [...]
Josh Rudolph on PRI’s The World: Dismantling Offshore Secrecy
As revelations from the “Pandora Papers” continue to rock the world of high finance, investigators are pointing to ways the offshore accounting system can be reformed and made more transparent. Maíra Martini, a money-laundering expert with Transpare [...]
Josh Rudolph on Cheddar: Explosive ‘Pandora Papers’ Reveal Secret Financial Offshore Systems
A recent new report released to the Wall Street Journal reveals some financial secrets of how some of the world's wealthiest and powerful political leaders have managed to hide billions of dollars. According to the report, some of the leaders involv [...]
Josh Rudolph on KCBS Radio: Financial Exposé Reveals Secrets of State Politicians, Public Officials, and Celebrities
Yesterday, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released what they call the Pandora Papers. The exposé revealed the financial secrets and offshore deals of dozens of heads of state politicians, public officials, and celebrities [...]
Helsinki Commission Briefing: Enabling Kleptocracy
Modern dictatorship relies on access to the West. Lawyers, lobbyists, accountants, real estate professionals, consultants, and others help kleptocrats launder their money and reputations—and exert undue influence in democracies—in exchange for dirty [...]
Josh Rudolph in Foreign Policy: How Art Dealers, Real Estate Agents, and Hedge Funds Enable Corruption
If Biden is serious about fighting corruption, he needs to regulate 10 key white-collar professions. The FBI has long viewed obscure private investment funds as dangerous financial pathways for malevolent foreign activities. Nearly a decade ago, th [...]
Regulating The Enablers
Executive Summary When kleptocrats, foreign intelligence services, homegrown autocrats, and other malign actors weaponize corruption to undermine U.S. democracy, their financial secrecy relies upon the services of ten sectors of U.S. professionals [...]