Will key European leaders join Biden’s approach on fighting kleptocratic regimes, whether Russia, China, Iran or Turkey?.
It was
no coincidence that President Biden took personal charge of issuing his first
National Security Council Memorandum (NSCM) on the eve of his recent trip to
Europe. He detailed a strong anti-corruption agenda.
The
U.S.’s goals
His aim
was to send two messages:
First,
the U.S. government counts on its West European partners and allies to support
his view that anti-corruption is a major issue of national security and demands
robust coordinated approaches.
Second,
the U.S. considers the Russian government in particular as a corrupt regime and
is determined to implement forceful measures to curb its activities. This
applies especially to Russian efforts connected to the goal of undermining
Western democracies.
Biden’s
commitment
Emphasizing
why he views the issue as so important, President Biden stated: “Fighting
corruption is not just good governance. It is self-defense. It is patriotism,
and it’s essential to the preservation of our democracy and our future.”
He
added, “Corruption is a risk to our national security, and we must recognize it
as such.”
Fighting
corruption: A matter of intelligence
Senior
U.S. administration officials stressed that the U.S. government will boost its
efforts to gather intelligence across the world on corruption.
This
involves strengthening its investigations and prosecutions of money laundering,
boosting foreign aid to assist countries to counter graft and increasing
efforts to coordinate actions with like-minded governments.
A rare
national consensus
The
President’s anti-corruption strategy has increasing support in the U.S.
Congress. It was no coincidence that his announcement coincided with the launch
in the U.S. House of Representatives of an “Anti-Kleptocracy Caucus,” enjoying
bi-partisan support.
A
similar initiative is likely in the U.S. Senate. New anti-corruption
legislation is now planned.
Putin’s
response
We do
not know if Biden explicitly discussed corruption in his meeting in Geneva and,
if so, how Putin responded.
However,
it is safe to assume that Putin, and all other kleptocrats, are aware of the
U.S. government’s resolve.
The
success of the Biden strategy crucially depends upon full cooperation, in
particular, by the governments of the U.K. Germany, France, Italy, as well as
the European Commission.
Putin
and other kleptocratic regimes such as those running China, Iran and Turkey may
hope that the Europeans will be reluctant to go nearly as far as Biden wants.
Indeed, for the U.S. leader this is a tough sell.
Corruption:
How authoritarians undermine democracy
In the
corridors of the G7 and NATO summits, prior to the meeting with Putin, Biden
and his associates forcefully stressed that the US sees anti-corruption now as
a core issue of national security in the vital contest across the globe between
authoritarianism and democracy.
The
final G7 Summit communiqué made only passing reference to corruption. In fact,
it was buried so deeply in the document that it looked as if it had just been
inserted by a U.S. official.
However,
Acting Assistant Secretary of State James Walsh responded to a question from me
on this issue: “We had corruption high on the G7 Summit agenda, even if the
media did not report this.”
European
softballing?
To their
credit, the UK and the EU have launched efforts to reform company laws so that
the true beneficial ownership of all corporations is transparent.
As a
principal matter, it is much harder now for the investors in illicit financial
vehicles to hide their assets in offshore opaque holding companies.
All for
public show?
Astonishingly,
though, neither the UK nor any EU member country has provided law enforcement
authorities with the budget resources adequate to meaningfully take on the
money-launderers in their midst.
This
makes it hard to expose the dirty cash schemes perpetrated in their countries
by the representatives of kleptocrats and their cronies, as well as by
organized crime.
Governments
run by private interests?
Importantly,
the most serious concerns that many European leaders of democracies have when
it comes to corruption are domestic.
The
issue comes into sharp focus with the publication by Transparency International
(TI) of its new “Barometer” survey of public opinions in the 27 EU countries
that shows that: “Almost a third of people think corruption is getting worse in
their country. A further 44% think it’s not getting any better.”
The
survey found that around one-half of the 40,000 people questioned think that
bribes or connections are commonly used by businesses to secure profitable
government contracts and that big companies often avoid paying their taxes.
TI said:
“It is not surprising, then, that more than half of people in the EU think
their government is run by private interests.”
European
business pressures
And
indeed, commercial influence and interests are the major constraint on European
governments acting nearly as forcefully as they should in dealing with foreign
corrupt regimes.
Germany
and France, for example, are keen to sell goods and services to Russia (and to
other kleptocracies) and hate to see trade curbed because of the Kremlin’s
far-reaching corruption.
They act
in that manner even though they must be aware that this way of accommodating
Russia undermines Western democracies and strengthen Russia’s geopolitical
influence.
Londongrad:
The UK’s uninspiring example
The
British authorities turn a blind eye to the armies of Russians, often
kleptocrats, who have bought large swathes of property to create “Londongrad.”
These
Russian “businessmen” are then “aided” by an British financial institutions,
lawyers, real estate brokers and consultants eager to earn high fees for their
transactional services.
And
these high end professionals, in turn, wield the kind of political influence to
ensure that their income streams are unchallenged.
Can the
West do better: Summit for Democracy?
The
feeble response by Western democracies to the enormous corruption pursued by
the leaders of authoritarian regimes in scores of countries will continue
unless things change clear-headed thinking finally prevails.
In
coming months, moving towards the “Summit for Democracy” that President Biden
is planning for late this year, senior U.S. officials will fan out across
Europe’s capitals to win acceptance of the view that countering corruption is a
vital national security challenge. They know that convincing the European
allies will be difficult.
Conclusion
If the
Western democracies are to counter the efforts of kleptocratic regimes to use
illicit finance and corrupt schemes, then a far more robust, highly
coordinated, strongly funded, international anti-corruption strategy is
essential.
The new
White House “Memorandum on Establishing the Fight Against Corruption as a Core
United States National Security Interest” is an excellent start.
***Frank
Vogl is president of Vogl Communications, Inc., in Washington D.C. and
publisher of www.ethicsworld.org. Vogl Communications works with leading
financial services firms and economic development institutions.
Mr. Vogl
is also the co-founder of Transparency International (and currently an adviser
to its managing director) and is a co-founder and member of the Board of
Directors of the Partnership for Transparency Fund and a Trustee of the
Committee for Economic Development.
He
serves as a member of the International Council of the New Israel Fund and of
the Advisory Council of the United Nations Association of the Greater
Washington Area. A former spokesman for the World Bank, Mr. Vogl was previously
the international economics correspondent for the Times of London.
He is
the author of many articles and books, and lectures extensively on global
ethics and corruption.
https://www.theglobalist.com/biden-putin-and-the-new-anti-graft-offensive/