In June, the Biden White House released a “Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest.”
The release was widely covered and hailed as introducing a “big idea into the global debate [by declaring] that combating corruption is a ‘core U.S. national security interest” and that the Biden administration’s approach is “different” because it frames corruption “as a national security imperative.”
Both assertions were obviously false as U.S. government officials have long maintained that Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement (one way in which the U.S. government attempts to address corruption) is necessary to protect national security. (See here). Moreover, national security is specifically mentioned in the FCPA as a reason not to enforce the law. (See here).
The June release directed various federal government departments and agencies to conduct a 200 day review “to identify how the U.S. government can amplify, expand, and enhance its ongoing efforts to prevent corruption, to better hold corrupt actors accountable, to curb illicit finance, and to strengthen the capacity of investigative journalists and other members of civil society who are on the frontlines of shining a spotlight on corrupt acts and actors.” (See here).
As a result of the review, the Biden administration recently released this “United States Strategy on Countering Corruption.”
Under the heading “Our Approach,” the memo states:
“While the U.S. Government has long recognized countering corruption as an important foreign policy goal, a growing understanding of corruption’s strategic impact and the increasing interconnectedness of the global economy underscores the need for a new approach. For the U.S. Government to effectively counter contemporary corruption, we must recognize the transnational dimensions of the challenge, and respond in a manner that is both systemic and tailored to local conditions. Doing so will require addressing vulnerabilities in the U.S. and international financial systems; bolstering international best practices, regulations, and enforcement efforts; supporting the role of non-governmental actors; building political will and recognizing when it is absent; and consistently pursuing accountability through a combination of diplomatic engagement, foreign assistance, and enforcement actions.
The United States will continue to evaluate and implement measures as needed to further safeguard our financial system, and will work with likeminded partners and relevant multilateral institutions to do the same. We will make it harder to hide the proceeds of ill-gotten wealth in opaque corporate structures, reduce the ability of individuals involved in corrupt acts to launder funds through anonymous purchases of U.S. real estate, and bolster asset recovery and seizure activities. We will innovate, adapt, partner, and learn, so as to maximize the potential for diplomatic tools, including foreign assistance and targeted sanctions, to stem corruption and to hold corrupt actors accountable, while expanding efforts to ensure that foreign assistance and engagement do not inadvertently contribute to corrupt practices. And we will continue to vigorously enforce the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other statutory and regulatory regimes via criminal and civil enforcement actions.
Countering corruption is not a simple task. Changing embedded cultures of corruption requires significant political will, and achieving sustained progress can take decades. Positive change requires consistent leadership, public accountability, an empowered and impartial judiciary, and a diverse and independent media. Mindful of these realities, the United States will increase support to state and non-state partners committed to reform, boost the capacity of other governments to tackle corruption, and empower those, including activists, investigative journalists, and law enforcement on the front lines of exposing corrupt acts. We will bolster and promote public-private partnerships to more consistently bring in the private sector as critical actors in the fight against corruption, help level the playing field and improve the international business climate, and lead in international fora as we work to curb the ability of actors to hide illgotten wealth behind anonymity. Our closest engagement will be with our most committed allies and partners, including with respect to the influence of strategic corruption deliberately employed by authoritarian governments.
As stated in the memo,
“To curb corruption and its deleterious effects, the U.S. Government will organize its efforts around five mutually reinforcing pillars of work:
- Modernizing, coordinating, and resourcing U.S. Government efforts to fight corruption;
- Curbing illicit finance;
- Holding corrupt actors accountable;
- Preserving and strengthening the multilateral anti-corruption architecture; and,
- Improving diplomatic engagement and leveraging foreign assistance resources to advance policy goals.”
My own two cents is that the memo is little more than bureaucratic, political gobbledygook.
Consider a few examples:
“Use of innovation to prevent and combat corruption: The United States will mobilize a diverse array of non-traditional partners and technologies, devote additional resources to pre-existing initiatives, and launch new initiatives intended to reduce transnational corruption. These include the Anti-Corruption Solutions through Emerging Technology program, which will engage diverse stakeholders—spanning government, civil society, and the private sector—to collaborate on tracking, developing, improving, and applying new and existing technological solutions to systemic challenges in preventing and detecting corruption.”
“Expanded agility and rapid response: The United States will expand existing, and develop new, rapid response tools for emerging areas of increased risk for corruption. Allowing for more agile response capabilities among partners will provide increased critical assistance, particularly to new democratic and reform-minded regimes and global civil society partners, as they more effectively investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate corruption and kleptocracy; and better address the role corruption plays in facilitating transnational organized crime and malign influence from state actors.”
“We will enhance corruption related research, data collection, and analysis seeking to use information more effectively to understand and map corruption networks and related proceeds, and dynamics, and tailor prevention and enforcement related actions, as well as build the evidence base around effective assistance approaches.”
“We will integrate anti-corruption considerations into regional, thematic, and sectoral priorities, including through new guidance, engagement in planning and budgetary processes, assistance reviews, strategic communications, and integration across other sectors.”
“We will strengthen the ability of foreign partner governments to pursue accountability in a just and equitable manner enhancing support to international partnerships and transnational initiatives, and working with partners to incentivize and enhance their capacities to pursue reform.”
“Use of innovation to prevent and combat corruption: The United States will mobilize a diverse array of non-traditional partners and technologies, devote additional resources to pre-existing initiatives, and launch new initiatives intended to reduce transnational corruption.”
In case you are wondering, my reaction to the 2016 National Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct (see here) was that it was a whole lot of fluff as well.
