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Biden ramps up efforts against corruption, 'bad actors' who target democracy

By Don Johnson
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters Wednesday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in Washington, D.C. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters Wednesday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building near the White House in Washington, D.C. Photo by Samuel Corum/UPI | License Photo

June 3 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden issued a memorandum Thursday directing federal agencies to find ways to combat "all forms of illicit finance" in the United States and international fiscal systems.

The memo says it establishes fighting corruption as a "core" U.S. national security interest.

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The memo says Biden's administration, in accordance with the priority, will seek to reduce offshore financial secrecy, seize stolen assets and make it more difficult for thieves to hide behind anonymity.

"Corruption threatens U.S. national security by eroding citizens' faith in government, distorting economies, and enabling authoritarians to weaken democratic institutions," the White House said in a statement.

The memo orders a 200-day interagency review to make recommendations as to how the U.S. government and allies can accomplish anti-corruption goals.

An administration official said the effort includes updating existing laws to deal with cryptocurrencies and cybercrime.

"We'll certainly be looking at the impact of cryptocurrency as a means of illicit finance, but by no means was -- were my remarks limited to crypto," the official told reporters on a conference call Thursday.

The effort would update the Bank Secrecy Act, they noted, which requires financial institutions to be transparent in moving money.

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The memo also directs agencies to accelerate efforts to establish a "beneficial ownership" registry so that "illicit actors" can't hide ill-gotten proceeds behind shell companies, limit bad actors' ability to anonymously buy residential real estate and close loopholes in existing regulations.

The administration also aims to strengthen anti-corruption powers under the Global Magnitsky Act -- which allows the federal government to sanction foreign government officials who are implicated in human rights abuses -- and bolster criminal or civil enforcement actions.

The memo said the United States will work with global partners to counteract strategic corruption from autocratic governments, foreign state-owned or affiliated enterprises and international criminal organizations. Such efforts will close loopholes that some use to "interfere" in U.S. and overseas democratic processes.

The new anti-corruption efforts are said to be part of a broader "foreign policy for the middle class" that's designed to ensure that globalization, trade, human rights and military power benefit working Americans, not just billionaires and multinational corporations.

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