WASHINGTON, BRUSSELS, LONDON — Transparency International U.S., Transparency International EU, and Transparency International UK welcome the announcement of a new Inter-Parliamentary Alliance Against Kleptocracy, a multilateral effort between the United States, United Kingdom, and European Union to tackle the national security threat posed by corruption.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance will host a virtual kickoff event featuring government leaders from the U.S. Caucus Against Foreign Corruption and Kleptocracy, the EU Parliament Anti-Corruption Intergroup, and the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Anti-Corruption and Responsible Tax. The Alliance is introduced as over 100 countries come together for President Joe Biden’s Summit for Democracy on December 9-10.
The Alliance represents one of the broadest efforts to combat international corruption in decades in these jurisdictions, and enjoys bipartisan support in the United States, where the Caucus against Foreign Corruption and Kleptocracy Caucus has brought together a broad coalition of lawmakers from across the political spectrum in the fight against global corruption.
The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance’s primary goals include increasing transparency and accountability in global finance, improving public oversight of government financial dealings, helping to dismantle foreign corruption networks across the globe, and supporting efforts by the media and civil society organizations to expose and root out corruption before it undermines democratic governance. The Alliance will help coordinate targeted sanctions and travel bans, and work to improve international anti-money laundering frameworks to meet 21st-century challenges.
“We need advanced democratic economies to play a full part in addressing transnational corruption that they are enabling or even fuelling,” said Delia Ferreira Rubio, Chair of Transparency International. “We are delighted to see today that a coalition of lawmakers in the EU, UK and the US are taking on this challenge. Their determined engagement will be critical to the success of the Summit for Democracy and to ensuring that words are translated into progressive legislation.”
“Corrupt governments don’t just steal from their own people, they use their ill-gotten gains to undermine democracy abroad in ways both direct and indirect,” said Transparency International U.S. Director Gary Kalman. “Governments around the world are recognizing they can’t tackle this massive challenge alone. The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance is an excellent example of how democracies are joining forces to make real progress against a rising tide of corruption.”
“Members of Parliament have shown they can achieve much more when acting together across the party divide and learning from their peers around the world. This new alliance could really empower them to take the fight against corruption to a new level of intensity and resolve,” said Duncan Hames, Director of Policy, Transparency International UK and a former Member of the UK Parliament.
“Corruption and financial crime are massive problems that cannot be tackled by countries acting alone, it requires a concerted international approach. Governments can be slow to recognise this, so it’s very significant that members of parliament in three jurisdictions that are critical in the fight against abuse of power and illicit financial flows, the EU, the US and the UK, are now joining hands to give this effort fresh impetus,” stated Michiel van Hulten, Director of Transparency International EU and former Member of the European Parliament.
