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We are exploring the recently released the United States Strategy on Countering Corruption (the “Strategy”); subtitled “Pursuant To The National Security Study Memorandum On Establishing The Fight Against Corruption as a Core United States National Security Interest”; in response to President Biden’s prior declaration of corruption as a national security issue of the United States.  Over this 5-part blog series I will be delving into the Strategy and considering how it will impact the compliance professional. We have considered Pillar 1, modernizing, coordinating, and resourcing US government efforts to fight corruption. Next, we took up Pillar 2, curbing illicit financing. With Pillar 3, we looked at holding corrupt actors accountable. Under Pillar 4, we look at preserving and strengthening multilateral anti-corruption architecture.
Today, we turn south of the border to pay tribute to Vicente Fernández, the powerful tenor who was known to generations of fans simply as “El Rey.” He was the king of traditional ranchera music and died on Sunday. According to his New York Times obituary, he “brought ranchera music, which emerged from the ranches of Mexico in the 19th century, to the rest of Latin America and beyond. In his signature charro outfit and intricately embroidered sombrero, a celebration of the genre’s countryside origins, he performed at some of the largest venues in the world.” El Rey recorded dozens of albums and hundreds of songs over a career that spanned six decades. He won almost every award for a singer, “including a place in the Billboard Latin Music Hall of Fame, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, three Grammy Awards and eight Latin Grammy Awards. He sold tens of millions of copies of his albums and starred in dozens of movies.”
Obviously, the US is invested in the worldwide fight against corruption and “remains committed to strengthening the international architecture in which multilateral initiatives, agreements, and standards magnify and give legitimacy to anti-corruption efforts around the world. Only by doing so will we decrease the prevalence of corruption and lower rewards for engaging in corrupt behavior. By leading within existing institutions and, in consultation with partners, building new fit-for-purpose platforms, the United States will further strengthen the multilateral system’s approach to corruption as a global problem, using all available fora to tackle shared priorities and eliminate safe havens for corrupt actors and their criminal proceeds.”
The Strategy has two general areas of focus under Pillar 4. The first is to bolster ABC frameworks and institutions. The second is to redouble multinational fora efforts. This area includes refocusing efforts on international frameworks and their use throughout the globe, including conventions such as the “UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the FATF and regional treaties and frameworks.” It also incorporates compliance program frameworks and enforcement mechanisms. The US “will place particular emphasis on pressing foreign partners to fulfill their obligations to criminalize and prosecute foreign bribery, given its effect on the ability of U.S businesses to compete fairly overseas.” The US will also press “foreign partners to fulfill their obligations to criminalize and prosecute foreign bribery, given its effect on the ability of U.S businesses to compete fairly overseas.” Finally, the US will work to strengthen and increase implementation of UNCAC.
An interesting new angle identified by the Strategy is to use the Department of Defense (DoD) to work in “elevating, prioritizing, and surging funds to institutional capacity building (ICB) activities to leverage DOD’s significant history of, and expertise in, improving resiliency through support of democracy and anti-corruption efforts with our global partners.” In addition to this initiative with the DOD, the US will also leverage NATO and its Building Integrity Program, to “simultaneously integrate key principles of advancing democratic civil-military relations, building transparent and resilient security sectors, and strengthening civilian leadership across multiple institutional functional areas.” I admit I had never considered using the DoD or NATO in ABC efforts but upon reflection the DoD does seem to have policies and protocols in place to assist in such an effort.
The second general area, “multilateral fora”, translates to multiple nations. The first place noted is the G7 and G20. Leaving Russia and China issue aside, the G7 does seem like a good place to engage in for the fight against corruption. Here the US will continue to push G7 “members to effectively implement strong transparency and anticorruption measures, such as those put forth in the FATF standards, and to strengthen G7 engagement with non-governmental stakeholders to include the private sector, civil society, and other relevant actors have a voice in shaping these efforts.” The next area turns to the fight in the financial realm where the US will “continue to work and engage with these entities to align and strengthen anti-corruption guardrails” and will “advocate for greater attention on anti-corruption efforts in international financial institutions (IFI) programing, with a stronger focus on anti-corruption reforms and capacity building in IFI operations and allocation systems that reward good governance.”
Finally, the US will work with global partnerships and platforms including the Open Government Partnership (OGP), to “solidify channels of collaboration with civil society, and expand existing support both directly to OGP and to international partners working to advance OGP processes.” The US will work with other key global platforms, such as the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which is a critical tool for advancing accountability, countering strategic corruption, and promoting a fair playing field for US businesses and other businesses around the world.
Clearly the US will be working with both public and private sector players under this Pillar. Every compliance professional should take note and be aware of any such initiatives in their sector or industry. You can provide input or use the information that is developed.
Join us tomorrow where we pay honor to Shirley McBay and conclude with Pillar 5 – Improving Diplomatic Engagement and Leveraging Foreign Assistance Resources to Advance Policy Goals.