The Atlantic Council is pleased to host the launch of the report “Stopping the kleptocrats: A strategy for the United States and Europe to address weaponized corruption.” This hybrid event will take place on Tuesday, January 24, 2023 from 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. ET at the Atlantic Council office and will be streamed virtually. This event will feature US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse as a keynote speaker and Minister of Justice of Bulgaria Krum Zarkov in a concluding spotlight conversation. Breakfast will also be provided to attendees.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the United States and its allies embarked on an unprecedented campaign against the Kremlin and its allies, freezing and seizing assets that they had abroad to place more sanctions pressure on the Kremlin. However, the sheer scale of these assets raised the question of why the transatlantic community was so willing to do business with kleptocrats not only in Russia, but across the world.

This event will launch our upcoming report Stopping the kleptocrats: A strategy for the United States and Europe to address weaponized corruption. The event aims to highlight the findings of our upcoming report on weaponized corruption and regulatory and enforcement weaknesses in the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union against illicit finance. In addition to drawing attention to regulatory and enforcement weakness against illicit finance in those jurisdictions, the panel will also discuss the report’s proposal for greater transatlantic coordination on anti-corruption reforms, particularly its call to establish a US-UK-EU Transatlantic Anti-Corruption Coordination Council (TACC).

Keynote speaker

The Honorable Sheldon Whitehouse
United States Senator (D-RI)

Featuring a spotlight conversation with

H.E. Krum Zarkov
Minister of Justice of the Republic of Bulgaria

Panelists

Matthew Duss
Visiting Scholar, American Statecraft Program 
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace

Gerald Knaus
Chairman
European Stability Initiative

Lakshmi Kumar
Policy Director
Global Financial Integrity

Elina Ribakova
Deputy Chief Economist
Institute for International Finance

Moderator

Europe Center

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