What a Second Trump Administration Means for the Fight Against Corruption in Europe and Beyond

President Trump's second term in office poses significant threats—yet also significant opportunities—for the global fight against corruption and kleptocracy. While a number of serious threats to the U.S. and global anticorruption infrastructures are emerging, there also exist a set of anticorruption and pro-democracy tools and proposals with global reach that can serve as models, inspiration, and reinforcement for democratic allies in Europe and across the world. These include: 1. The U.S.'s new and first-in-the-world Foreign Extortion Prevention Act, which gives the U.S. Government the ability to criminally prosecute foreign officials anywhere in the world who demand bribes from Americans, American companies, or any company—anywhere in the world—that is listed on a U.S. stock exchange; 2. The U.S.'s new beneficial ownership registry, which, if implemented fully and without delay, will be the U.S.’s highest-potential tool for stopping corrupt foreign leaders across the world from laundering their dirty money through the U.S. financial system; 3. The recently-made-permanent Global Magnitsky Act, the U.S.’s most powerful anticorruption sanctions tool, which can be used in collaboration with sanctions from allied countries to isolate and dismantle corrupt networks; 4. The ENABLERS Act, which would require U.S.-based "enablers" of transnational corruption, including lawyers, accountants, and corporate service providers, to adopt anti-money laundering safeguards; and 5. Increases in funding for financial intelligence units and related government agencies that work as the "financial cops" on the frontlines of fighting corruption, including the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the U.S. Department of Justice’s KleptoCapture Task Force. We're optimistic that the U.S. can continue to work with democratic partners and allies across the world to collectively serve as a force for good in the fight against corruption, and will distill what U.S. Government policy—present and future—under President Trump may mean for defenders of democracy in Europe and beyond.