# Understanding the Counter-Kleptocracy Act

This bill is designed to fight corruption by foreign government officials and their associates, treating it as a national security threat to the United States. The law creates a system to identify countries with serious corruption problems and punish the corrupt officials involved through sanctions and travel bans.

The bill requires the State Department to rank every country annually on a three-tier system based on how well they're fighting corruption. Tier 1 countries are doing well and meeting international anti-corruption standards. Tier 2 countries are making efforts but falling short. Tier 3 countries are doing little to nothing to combat corruption. The rankings consider whether countries have laws against corruption, whether they actually enforce those laws, if they punish corrupt officials fairly, and whether they cooperate with international anti-corruption efforts. The State Department will publish these rankings publicly so people can see which countries are serious about fighting corruption and which aren't.

For countries ranked as Tier 3 or identified as having significant corruption problems, the bill authorizes the President to impose sanctions on corrupt foreign officials and their associates. These sanctions include travel bans—corrupt officials would be denied visas and barred from entering the United States—and their existing visas would be revoked. The bill also requires the State Department to report to Congress about which officials have been sanctioned and why. Additionally, the bill establishes anti-corruption coordinators at U.S. embassies in countries with serious corruption problems to help coordinate American government efforts to combat corruption abroad and assist those countries in developing their own anti-corruption strategies.

Counter-Kleptocracy Act

Cohen, Steve

Counter-Kleptocracy Act This bill addresses prevention and elimination of corruption globally. The Department of State must (1) annually rank, using specified standards, foreign countries based on their efforts to eliminate corruption; and (2) designate an anti-corruption contact in the diplomatic mission of any country that does not meet the standards. The State Department must also evaluate whether to sanction foreign persons engaged in significant corruption (1) in countries that make de minimis or no efforts to meet the standards, or (2) connected to a designated Russian pipeline project. The President may temporarily sanction foreign persons engaging in public corruption activities (e.g. bribery). The bill makes it a federal crime for foreign officials to demand or accept bribes to influence the performance of an official act or otherwise confer an improper advantage. Officials who engage in this conduct are subject to a fine, a prison term, or both. Funds recovered by prosecuting this crime shall be deposited into a new fund in the Treasury for anti-corruption initiatives. The Department of Justice must make publicly available an accounting of property relating to foreign government corruption that is forfeited to the United States. The bill addresses issues concerning U.S. visas, including related to (1) abuse of investor visas by corrupt foreign officials or criminals, and (2) foreign individuals denied admission to the United States because of adverse foreign policy consequences. The bill also prohibits extraditions based solely on, and otherwise addresses, International Criminal Police Organization communications.