I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3843 

To promote international efforts in combating corruption, kleptocracy, and 

illicit finance by foreign officials and other foreign persons, including 

through a new anti-corruption action fund, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 18, 2019 

Mr. KEATING (for himself, Mr. FITZPATRICK, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. WILSON of 

South Carolina, Mr. COHEN, Mr. ADERHOLT, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Mr. 

HUDSON, Ms. MOORE, Mr. CURTIS, Mr. SUOZZI, and Mr. MALINOWSKI) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Financial Services, 

for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case 

for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the 

committee concerned 

A BILL 

To promote international efforts in combating corruption, 

kleptocracy, and illicit finance by foreign officials and 

other foreign persons, including through a new anticorruption action fund, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HR 3843 IH

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Russian 

3 and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act’’ or the ‘‘CROOK 

4 Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds the following: 

7 (1) Authoritarian leaders in foreign countries 

8 abuse their power to steal assets from state institu9 tions, enrich themselves at the expense of their coun10 tries’ economic development, and use corruption as 

11 a strategic tool both to solidify their grip on power 

12 and to undermine democratic institutions abroad. 

13 (2) Global corruption harms the competitiveness 

14 of United States businesses, feeds terrorist recruit15 ment and transnational organized crime, enables 

16 drug smuggling and human trafficking, and stymies 

17 economic growth. 

18 (3) Illicit financial flows often inconspicuously 

19 penetrate a country through what appears to be le20 gitimate financial transactions, as kleptocrats laun21 der money, use shell companies, amass offshore 

22 wealth, and participate in a global shadow economy. 

23 (4) The government of Vladimir Putin in Rus24 sia is the leading model of this type of foreign 

25 kleptocratic system, using corruption to erode demo26 cratic governance from within and discrediting deVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Aug 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3843.IH H3843

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HR 3843 IH

1 mocracy abroad, thereby strengthening his authori2 tarian rule. 

3 (5) Russia uses stolen money to— 

4 (A) purchase key assets in other countries, 

5 particularly with a goal of attaining monopo6 listic control of a sector; 

7 (B) gain access to and influence the poli8 cies of democratic countries; and 

9 (C) directly fund political parties and orga10 nizations that advance Russian interests in 

11 other countries, particularly those that under12 mine confidence and trust in democratic sys13 tems. 

14 (6) Thwarting these tactics by Russia and other 

15 kleptocratic governments requires the international 

16 community to strengthen democratic governance, the 

17 rule of law, and international cooperation in com18 bating illicit finance, especially by empowering re19 formers in foreign countries during historic political 

20 openings for the establishment of the rule of law in 

21 those countries. 

22 (7) New reformers in foreign countries must act 

23 quickly to seize political openings for anti-corruption 

24 reform, but as these reformers are often outsiders 

25 with little government experience, they may need sigVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Aug 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3843.IH H3843

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HR 3843 IH

1 nificant technical assistance to root out deep-seated 

2 corruption. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) RULE OF LAW.—The term ‘‘rule of law’’ 

6 means the principle of governance in which all per7 sons, institutions, and entities, whether public or 

8 private, including the state itself, are accountable to 

9 laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, 

10 and independently adjudicated, and which are con11 sistent with international human rights norms and 

12 standards. 

13 (2) FOREIGN STATE.—The term ‘‘foreign state’’ 

14 has the meaning given such term in section 1603 of 

15 title 28, United States Code. 

16 (3) INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY.—The term 

17 ‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 

18 such term in section 3(4) of the National Security 

19 Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 

20 (4) PUBLIC CORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘public 

21 corruption’’ means the unlawful exercise of entrusted 

22 public power for private gain, including by bribery, 

23 nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (5) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘foreign 

2 assistance’’ means foreign assistance authorized 

3 under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 

4 (6) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT5 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com6 mittees’’ means— 

7 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 

8 the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

9 Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Finance 

10 of the Senate; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 

12 Committee on Financial Services, and the Com13 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of 

14 Representatives. 

15 SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS. 

16 It is the sense of Congress that the following inter17 national standards should be the foundation for foreign 

18 states to combat corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit fi19 nance: 

20 (1) The United Nations Convention against 

21 Corruption. 

22 (2) Recommendations of the Financial Action 

23 Task Force (FATF) comprising the International 

24 Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the 

25 Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
6 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (3) The Organisation for Economic Co-oper2 ation and Development Convention on Combating 

3 Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International 

4 Business Transactions (OECD Anti-Bribery Conven5 tion), the 2009 Recommendation of the Council for 

6 Further Combating Bribery, the 2009 Recommenda7 tion on the Tax Deductibility of Bribes to Foreign 

8 Public Officials; and other related instruments. 

9 (4) Legal instruments adopted by the Council 

10 of Europe and monitored by the Group of States 

11 against Corruption (GRECO), including the Crimi12 nal Law Convention on Corruption, the Civil Law 

13 Convention on Corruption, the Additional Protocol 

14 to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, the 

15 Twenty Guiding Principles against Corruption, the 

16 Recommendation on Codes of Conduct for Public 

17 Officials, and the Recommendation on Common 

18 Rules against Corruption in the Funding of Political 

19 Parties and Electoral Campaigns. 

20 (5) Organization for Security and Cooperation 

21 in Europe (OSCE) ‘‘Second Dimension’’ commit22 ments on good governance, anti-corruption, anti23 money laundering, and related issues. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
7 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (6) The Inter-American Convention Against 

2 Corruption under the Organization of American 

3 States. 

4 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 It is the policy of the United States to— 

6 (1) leverage United States diplomatic engage7 ment and foreign assistance to promote the rule of 

8 law; 

9 (2) promote the international standards identi10 fied in section 4, as well as other relevant inter11 national standards and best practices as such stand12 ards and practices develop, and to seek the universal 

13 adoption and implementation of such standards and 

14 practices by foreign states; 

15 (3) support foreign states in promoting good 

16 governance and combating public corruption; 

17 (4) encourage and assist foreign partner coun18 tries to identify and close loopholes in their legal and 

19 financial architecture, including the misuse of anon20 ymous shell companies, free trade zones, and other 

21 legal structures, that are enabling illicit finance and 

22 authoritarian capital to penetrate their financial sys23 tems; 

24 (5) help foreign partner countries to investigate 

25 and combat the use of corruption by authoritarian 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
8 

•HR 3843 IH

1 governments, particularly that of Vladimir Putin in 

2 Russia, as a tool of malign influence worldwide; 

3 (6) make use of sanctions authorities, such as 

4 the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability 

5 Act (enacted as subtitle F of title XII of the Na6 tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

7 2017 (Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note)), 

8 to identify and take action against corrupt foreign 

9 actors; and 

10 (7) ensure coordination between the depart11 ments and agencies of the United States Govern12 ment with jurisdiction over the advancement of good 

13 governance in foreign states. 

14 SEC. 6. ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTION FUND. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es16 tablish in the Department of State a fund to be known 

17 as the ‘‘Anti-Corruption Action Fund’’ to aid foreign 

18 states to prevent and fight public corruption and develop 

19 rule of law-based governance structures, including ac20 countable investigative, prosecutorial, and judicial bodies, 

21 and supplement existing foreign assistance and diplomacy 

22 with respect to such efforts. 

23 (b) FUNDING.—An amount equal to five percent of 

24 each civil and criminal fine and penalty imposed pursuant 

25 to actions brought under the Foreign Corrupt Practices 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
9 

•HR 3843 IH

1 Act on or after the date of the enactment of this Act that 

2 would otherwise be deposited in the Treasury of the 

3 United States shall be deposited in the Anti-Corruption 

4 Action Fund under subsection (a), to be available without 

5 need for subsequent appropriation and without fiscal year 

6 limitation. 

7 (c) SUPPORT.—The Anti-Corruption Action Fund 

8 may support governmental and nongovernmental parties 

9 in advancing the goals specified in subsection (a) and shall 

10 be allocated in a manner complementary to existing 

11 United States foreign assistance, diplomacy, and the anti12 corruption activities of other international donors. 

13 (d) PREFERENCE.—In programing foreign assistance 

14 using the Anti-Corruption Action Fund, the Secretary of 

15 State shall give preference to projects that— 

16 (1) assist countries that are undergoing historic 

17 opportunities for democratic transition, combating 

18 corruption, and the establishment of the rule of law; 

19 (2) are important to United States national in20 terests; and 

21 (3) where United States foreign assistance 

22 could significantly increase the chance of a success23 ful transition described in paragraph (1). 

24 (e) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The Secretary of State 

25 shall publicize that funds provided to the Anti-Corruption 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
10 

•HR 3843 IH

1 Action Fund originate from actions brought under the 

2 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act so as to demonstrate that 

3 monies obtained under such Act are contributing to inter4 national anti-corruption work under this section, including 

5 by reducing the pressure that United States businesses 

6 face to pay bribes overseas, thereby contributing to greater 

7 United States competitiveness. 

8 SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall have 

10 primary responsibility for managing a whole-of-govern11 ment effort to improve coordination among United States 

12 Government departments and agencies, as well as with 

13 other donor organizations, that have a role in promoting 

14 good governance in foreign states and enhancing the abil15 ity of foreign states to combat public corruption. 

16 (b) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.—Not later than 180 

17 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec18 retary of State shall establish and convene an Interagency 

19 Task Force composed of— 

20 (1) representatives appointed by the President 

21 from appropriate departments and agencies, includ22 ing the Department of State, the United States 

23 Agency for International Development (USAID), the 

24 Department of Justice, the Department of the 

25 Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
11 

•HR 3843 IH

1 the Department of Defense, the Department of 

2 Commerce, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 

3 and the intelligence community; and 

4 (2) representatives from any other United 

5 States Government departments or agencies, as de6 termined by the Secretary. 

7 (c) ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—The Interagency Task 

8 Force established in subsection (b) shall meet not less 

9 than twice per year. 

10 (d) DUTIES.—The Interagency Task Force estab11 lished in subsection (b) shall— 

12 (1) evaluate, on a general basis, the effective13 ness of existing foreign assistance programs, includ14 ing programs funded by the Anti-Corruption Action 

15 Fund under section 6, that have an impact on pro16 moting good governance in foreign states and en17 hancing the ability of foreign states to combat public 

18 corruption; 

19 (2) assist the Secretary of State in managing 

20 the whole-of-government effort described in sub21 section (a); 

22 (3) identify general areas in which such whole23 of-government effort could be enhanced; and 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
12 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (4) recommend specific programs for foreign 

2 states that may be used to enhance such whole-of3 government effort. 

4 SEC. 8. DESIGNATION OF EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION 

5 POINTS OF CONTACT. 

6 (a) EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION POINT OF CON7 TACT.—The chief of mission of each United States em8 bassy shall designate an anti-corruption point of contact 

9 for each such embassy. 

10 (b) DUTIES.—The designated anti-corruption points 

11 of contact under subsection (a) shall— 

12 (1) with guidance from the Interagency Task 

13 Force established under section 7, coordinate an 

14 interagency approach within United States embas15 sies to combat public corruption in the foreign states 

16 in which such embassies are located that is tailored 

17 to the needs of such foreign states, including all rel18 evant United States Government departments and 

19 agencies with a presence in such foreign states, such 

20 as the Department of State, USAID, the Depart21 ment of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, 

22 the Department of Homeland Security, the Depart23 ment of Defense, the Millennium Challenge Corpora24 tion, and the intelligence community; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
13 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (2) make recommendations regarding the use of 

2 the Anti-Corruption Action Fund under section 6 

3 and other foreign assistance related to anti-corrup4 tion efforts in their respective foreign states, align5 ing such assistance with United States diplomatic 

6 engagement; and 

7 (3) ensure that anti-corruption activities carried 

8 out within their respective foreign states are in9 cluded in regular reporting to the Secretary of State 

10 and the Interagency Task Force under section 7, in11 cluding United States embassy strategic planning 

12 documents and foreign assistance-related reporting, 

13 as appropriate. 

14 (c) TRAINING.—The Secretary of State shall develop 

15 and implement appropriate training for designated anti16 corruption points of contact under this section. 

17 SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 

18 (a) REPORT ON PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL

19 STANDARDS IN COMBATING CORRUPTION, KLEPTOCRACY, 

20 AND ILLICIT FINANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 

21 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

22 in consultation with the Administrator of the USAID and 

23 the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appro24 priate congressional committees a report that— 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
14 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (1) summarizes any progress made by foreign 

2 states to adopt and implement each of the inter3 national standards in combating corruption, 

4 kleptocracy, and illicit finance listed in section 4; 

5 (2) details the efforts of the United States Gov6 ernment to promote such international standards; 

7 (3) identifies priority countries for outreach re8 garding such international standards; and 

9 (4) outlines a plan to encourage the adoption 

10 and implementation of such international standards, 

11 including specific steps to take with the priority 

12 countries identified in accordance with paragraph 

13 (3). 

14 (b) REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD IMPLEMENTA15 TION.—Not later than one year after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act and annually thereafter for three years, 

17 the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Adminis18 trator of the USAID, shall submit to the appropriate con19 gressional committees a report summarizing progress in 

20 implementing this Act, including— 

21 (1) a description of the bureaucratic structure 

22 of the offices within the Department and USAID 

23 that are engaged in activities to combat corruption, 

24 kleptocracy, and illicit finance, and how such offices 

25 coordinate with one another; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
15 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (2) information relating to the amount of funds 

2 deposited in the Anti-Corruption Action Fund estab3 lished under section 6 and the obligation, expendi4 ture, and impact of such funds; 

5 (3) the activities of the Interagency Task Force 

6 established pursuant to section 7(b); 

7 (4) the designation of anti-corruption points of 

8 contact for foreign states pursuant to section 8(a) 

9 and any training provided to such points of contact 

10 pursuant to section 8(c); and 

11 (5) additional resources or personnel needs to 

12 better achieve the goals of this Act to combat cor13 ruption, kleptocracy, and illicit finance overseas. 

14 (c) ONLINE PLATFORM.—The Secretary of State, in 

15 conjunction with the Administrator of the USAID, shall 

16 consolidate existing reports and briefings with anti-corrup17 tion components into one online, public platform, that in18 cludes the following: 

19 (1) The Annual Country Reports on Human 

20 Rights Practices. 

21 (2) The Fiscal Transparency Report. 

22 (3) The Investment Climate Statement reports. 

23 (4) The International Narcotics Control Strat24 egy Report. 

25 (5) Any other relevant public reports. 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
16 

•HR 3843 IH

1 (6) Links to third-party indicators and compli2 ance mechanisms used by the United States Govern3 ment to inform policy and programming, such as the 

4 following: 

5 (A) The International Finance Corpora6 tion’s Doing Business surveys. 

7 (B) The International Budget Partner8 ship’s Open Budget Index. 

9 (C) Multilateral peer review anti-corrup10 tion compliance mechanisms, such as the 

11 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 

12 Development’s Working Group on Bribery in 

13 International Business Transactions, the Fol14 low-Up Mechanism for the Inter-American Con15 vention against Corruption (MESICIC), and 

16 the United Nations Convention against Corrup17 tion, done at New York October 31, 2003, to 

18 further highlight expert international views on 

19 foreign state challenges and efforts. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS