Is the United States still a global leader in the fight against corruption?

The United States is not only the world’s largest economy and military power, but also home to the international financial institutions and markets that shape policy and investment worldwide. Every major bank, for instance, depends on relationships with U.S. institutions, and its laws—including anti-money laundering and sanctions frameworks—have a truly global impact. How the United States acts to counter corruption, and the illicit finance it depends on, has a significant influence on governance and accountability beyond its borders.

But that responsibility to prevent the U.S. from enabling corruption around the world is now being sorely tested by the Trump administration. In its first year in office, it has put the pillars of the U.S. domestic and transnational anti-corruption framework under immense pressure. This included disbanding anti-kleptocracy and asset recovery offices, dismissing public officials who monitor and report on corruption, and attacks on beneficial ownership reporting requirements and a flagship law designed to prevent foreign bribery by corporations.

It has also misused the powers of the Magnitsky Act, intended to sanction foreign individuals and public officials involved in corruption and human rights violations, to target a Brazilian judge and remove sanctions on a Hungarian minister. Meanwhile, the implementation of important anti-money laundering rules has been delayed, and a new ‘Gold Card’ visa scheme means US residency will be available to people who invest large sums in the country. Similar schemes in other countries attracted corrupt individuals looking for place to hide illicit money and evade justice elsewhere.

At the same time, the US government’s decision to dramatically cut anti-corruption-focused foreign assistance programmes is having consequential impacts around the world. And we are watching with concern how the administration appears to be seeking control of Venezuela.

These trends – the weaponisation of anti-corruption laws and sanctions, the selective loosening of market controls to benefit those with political connections, and the way enforcement discretion is shaping winners and losers in ways that contradict core anti-corruption objectives – are troubling developments not just for America but for the world.

Anti-corruption laws should be there to serve the public interest and the common good, not distorted to advance narrow political or economic interests.

At Transparency International U.S. we have been working to unite a politically diverse coalition of ‘strange bedfellows’- from law enforcement and the private sector to national security leaders and civil society organisations – to try to protect the underlying U.S. laws on which the transnational anti-corruption framework is built.

We have helped to defend new beneficial ownership reporting requirements in the Corporate Transparency Act from Congressional repeal, and encouraged the administration to reactivate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. However, threats remain. To be effective, laws need to be robust, properly enforced and impartially applied.

We also helped secure new anti-corruption commitments for U.S. foreign assistance in Congress, laying the groundwork for future foreign aid dollars to be directed to uphold transparency and the rule of law. Crypto-currency remains a priority focus, to guard against risks like crypto being used to pay bribes, launder money, and support organised crime. We shaped bipartisan crypto-currency legislation to embed some anti-money laundering and sanctions safeguards and are advocating for strong anti-corruption checks in crypto markets.

For better or worse, what happens in the United States affects the fight against corruption worldwide. We will continue to speak out against abuse of power and defend key anti-corruption rules from attack, while working with allies to protect the integrity of U.S. elections and our democratic infrastructure. Although the future is uncertain, we will do all we can to ensure the U.S. lives up to its responsibility to prevent corruption at home and around the world.