The Biden administration unveiled its approach to crack down on national and international corruption on Monday, the first broad formal strategy of its kind.
The White House is rolling out its new multi-pronged approach to stem the flow of illicit cash days before President Joe Biden is set to host the first-ever virtual Summit for Democracy, senior administration officials have said.
There are 110 participants on the State Department's invitation list for the virtual event on December 9 and 10, which aims to help stop democratic backsliding and the erosion of rights and freedoms worldwide. The list does not include China or Russia.
Biden will walk into the summit with the US's new anti-corruption plan likely aiming to get fellow world leaders to commit to joint strategies on sanctions and other methods of policing kleptocratic governments, as well as stepping up ethics guardrails within their own countries.
It's also just before Biden is set to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday.
The White House is looking to disrupt the flow of dirty money on the world stage by strengthening diplomatic ties with countries willing to fight corruption and leveraging foreign assistance in countries susceptible to kleptocracy or that aid bad actors, according to a 38-page report titled United States Strategy on Countering Corruption.
The administration also hopes to work on existing anti-corruption goals with G7 and G20 partners, senior officials told member of the press on Sunday night.
Biden is also looking to tackle corruption on domestic fronts including: modernizing and coordinating US efforts to fight corruption, curbing illicit finance, holding corrupt actors accountable and preserving existing multilateral anti-corruption frameworks.
Officials across a number of departments including the Treasury, Pentagon and Justice Department will commit to strengthening anti-corruption initiatives as well as new positions created to meet the strategy's specific goals.
Biden ordered his government in June to undergo a 200-day study on how best to approach fighting corruption at home and abroad
The Treasury Department indicated last week that it would be imposing sanctions ahead of Biden's planned summit.
The Pentagon, officials said, would be strengthening its review of countries 'with significant risks of corruption' when considering international security aid.
'The strategy commits to deepening coordination with foreign partner governments to strengthen their ability to pursue accountability for corruption where there's political wealth, while also deepening support to activists and investigative journalists on the front lines,' officials said.
A cornerstone of the plan involves the global financial system and cracking down on high-value real estate purchases, particularly those made by shell companies that hide the real buyer's identity.
As the world's largest economy the US real estate market has long been a target for domestic and international money laundering.
Late last year Congress passed the Corporate Transparency Act, which would create a registry managed by the Treasury Department containing the names, birth dates and current residential or business street
