WASHINGTON—Today, Helsinki Commission Chairman Joe Wilson and Ranking Member Steve Cohen, Co-Chairmen of the Counter-Kleptocracy Caucus, marked the third annual Counter-Kleptocracy Month.
“Foreign corruption and kleptocracy is the main reason that we face a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine today. It is the way that the Islamic Republic of Iran sustains itself. It is the way that the Chinese Communist Party exerts its influence around the world. We need to ensure that western enablers and anonymous financial mechanisms are not providing our adversaries access to our systems and the ability to undermine democracy from within.”
As with previous Counter-Kleptocracy Months, Caucus members plan to introduce multiple bipartisan bills to counter foreign corruption and kleptocracy. The work of the Caucus in the last Congress led to the passage of legislation to enable the transfer of recovered oligarch assets to Ukraine as well as an expansion of the anti-money laundering statute of limitations. The Caucus held multiple events and developed and introduced multiple bills to stem the influence of foreign corruption and kleptocracy.
The Caucus recognizes the leadership of former Congressman Tom Malinowski, who founded the Caucus. We thank him for his work to close the corrupt loopholes that enable foreign influence to enter our system.
