Washington, D.C. – Today, the Biden administration announced the release of its first National Security Study Memorandum, which calls for a whole-of-government effort to fight corruption. It instructs and offers guidance to relevant federal agencies to pursue a robust anti-corruption agenda aimed at rooting out the pernicious influence of corruption and kleptocracy in the international system and within the U.S. economy and U.S. institutions.
Recently, the Center for American Progress released a report that offered comprehensive guidelines for how the world’s leading democracies can address the growing problem of kleptocracy and illicit finance—practices that pose a threat to the security of democratic societies. It called for greater regulation of the global financial system and pushing back against the use of “weaponized” corruption by authoritarian regimes such as Russia and China.
In response to the Biden administration’s announcement, Katrina Mulligan, acting vice president for National Security and International Policy at CAP, issued the following statement:
President Biden’s actions today show the world how committed his administration is about mobilizing government resources to combat the scourge of corruption and dirty money. Corruption is a grave threat to the vitality and resilience of democracies everywhere and an affront to the democratic values that the Biden administration has emphasized in its domestic and foreign policies. As CAP advocated in a recent report, the United States should make the fight against corruption a national security priority even as it seeks to strengthen our democratic institutions and live up to our democratic principles at home. This memo is an important first step in realizing that goal and sends and important message to our partners and allies that the United States is prepared to lead global anti-corruption efforts, consistent with American values.
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