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 anti- 
corruption action fund, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Countering Russian 
and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act’’ or the ‘‘CROOK 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Authoritarian leaders in foreign countries 
abuse their power to steal assets from state institu-
tions, enrich themselves at the expense of their coun-
tries’ economic development, and use corruption as 
a strategic tool both to solidify their grip on power 
and to undermine democratic institutions abroad. 
(2) Global corruption harms the competitiveness 
of United States businesses, feeds terrorist recruit-
ment and transnational organized crime, enables 
drug smuggling and human trafficking, and stymies 
economic growth. 
(3) Illicit financial flows often inconspicuously 
penetrate a country through what appears to be le-
gitimate financial transactions, as kleptocrats laun-
der money, use shell companies, amass offshore 
wealth, and participate in a global shadow economy. 
(4) The government of Vladimir Putin in Rus-
sia is the leading model of this type of foreign 
kleptocratic system, using corruption to erode demo-
cratic governance from within and discrediting de-
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mocracy abroad, thereby strengthening his authori-
tarian rule. 
(5) Russia uses stolen money to— 
(A) purchase key assets in other countries, 
particularly with a goal of attaining monopo-
listic control of a sector; 
(B) gain access to and influence the poli-
cies of democratic countries; and 
(C) directly fund political parties and orga-
nizations that advance Russian interests in 
other countries, particularly those that under-
mine confidence and trust in democratic sys-
tems. 
(6) Thwarting these tactics by Russia and other 
kleptocratic governments requires the international 
community to strengthen democratic governance, the 
rule of law, and international cooperation in com-
bating illicit finance, especially by empowering re-
formers in foreign countries during historic political 
openings for the establishment of the rule of law in 
those countries. 
(7) New reformers in foreign countries must act 
quickly to seize political openings for anti-corruption 
reform, but as these reformers are often outsiders 
with little government experience, they may need sig-
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nificant technical assistance to root out deep-seated 
corruption. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) RULE OF LAW.—The term ‘‘rule of law’’ 
means the principle of governance in which all per-
sons, institutions, and entities, whether public or 
private, including the state itself, are accountable to 
laws that are publicly promulgated, equally enforced, 
and independently adjudicated, and which are con-
sistent with international human rights norms and 
standards. 
(2) FOREIGN STATE.—The term ‘‘foreign state’’ 
has the meaning given such term in section 1603 of 
title 28, United States Code. 
(3) INTELLIGENCE
COMMUNITY.—The term 
‘‘intelligence community’’ has the meaning given 
such term in section 3(4) of the National Security 
Act of 1947 (50 U.S.C. 3003(4)). 
(4) PUBLIC
CORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘public 
corruption’’ means the unlawful exercise of entrusted 
public power for private gain, including by bribery, 
nepotism, fraud, or embezzlement. 
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(5) FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The term ‘‘foreign 
assistance’’ means foreign assistance authorized 
under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961. 
(6) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
Urban Affairs, and the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Financial Services, and the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means of the House of 
Representatives. 
SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS. 
It is the sense of Congress that the following inter-
national standards should be the foundation for foreign 
states to combat corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit fi-
nance: 
(1) The United Nations Convention against 
Corruption. 
(2) Recommendations of the Financial Action 
Task Force (FATF) comprising the International 
Standards on Combating Money Laundering and the 
Financing of Terrorism & Proliferation. 
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(3) The Organisation for Economic Co-oper-
ation and Development Convention on Combating 
Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International 
Business Transactions (OECD Anti-Bribery Conven-
tion), the 2009 Recommendation of the Council for 
Further Combating Bribery, the 2009 Recommenda-
tion on the Tax Deductibility of Bribes to Foreign 
Public Officials; and other related instruments. 
(4) Legal instruments adopted by the Council 
of Europe and monitored by the Group of States 
against Corruption (GRECO), including the Crimi-
nal Law Convention on Corruption, the Civil Law 
Convention on Corruption, the Additional Protocol 
to the Criminal Law Convention on Corruption, the 
Twenty Guiding Principles against Corruption, the 
Recommendation on Codes of Conduct for Public 
Officials, and the Recommendation on Common 
Rules against Corruption in the Funding of Political 
Parties and Electoral Campaigns. 
(5) Organization for Security and Cooperation 
in Europe (OSCE) ‘‘Second Dimension’’ commit-
ments on good governance, anti-corruption, anti- 
money laundering, and related issues. 
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(6) The Inter-American Convention Against 
Corruption under the Organization of American 
States. 
SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States to— 
(1) leverage United States diplomatic engage-
ment and foreign assistance to promote the rule of 
law; 
(2) promote the international standards identi-
fied in section 4, as well as other relevant inter-
national standards and best practices as such stand-
ards and practices develop, and to seek the universal 
adoption and implementation of such standards and 
practices by foreign states; 
(3) support foreign states in promoting good 
governance and combating public corruption; 
(4) encourage and assist foreign partner coun-
tries to identify and close loopholes in their legal and 
financial architecture, including the misuse of anon-
ymous shell companies, free trade zones, and other 
legal structures, that are enabling illicit finance and 
authoritarian capital to penetrate their financial sys-
tems; 
(5) help foreign partner countries to investigate 
and combat the use of corruption by authoritarian 
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governments, particularly that of Vladimir Putin in 
Russia, as a tool of malign influence worldwide; 
(6) make use of sanctions authorities, such as 
the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability 
Act (enacted as subtitle F of title XII of the Na-
tional Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
2017 (Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note)), 
to identify and take action against corrupt foreign 
actors; and 
(7) ensure coordination between the depart-
ments and agencies of the United States Govern-
ment with jurisdiction over the advancement of good 
governance in foreign states. 
SEC. 6. ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTION FUND. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall es-
tablish in the Department of State a fund to be known 
as the ‘‘Anti-Corruption Action Fund’’ to aid foreign 
states to prevent and fight public corruption and develop 
rule of law-based governance structures, including ac-
countable investigative, prosecutorial, and judicial bodies, 
and supplement existing foreign assistance and diplomacy 
with respect to such efforts. 
(b) FUNDING.—An amount equal to five percent of 
each civil and criminal fine and penalty imposed pursuant 
to actions brought under the Foreign Corrupt Practices 
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Act on or after the date of the enactment of this Act that 
would otherwise be deposited in the Treasury of the 
United States shall be deposited in the Anti-Corruption 
Action Fund under subsection (a), to be available without 
need for subsequent appropriation and without fiscal year 
limitation. 
(c) SUPPORT.—The Anti-Corruption Action Fund 
may support governmental and nongovernmental parties 
in advancing the goals specified in subsection (a) and shall 
be allocated in a manner complementary to existing 
United States foreign assistance, diplomacy, and the anti- 
corruption activities of other international donors. 
(d) PREFERENCE.—In programing foreign assistance 
using the Anti-Corruption Action Fund, the Secretary of 
State shall give preference to projects that— 
(1) assist countries that are undergoing historic 
opportunities for democratic transition, combating 
corruption, and the establishment of the rule of law; 
(2) are important to United States national in-
terests; and 
(3) where United States foreign assistance 
could significantly increase the chance of a success-
ful transition described in paragraph (1). 
(e) PUBLIC DIPLOMACY.—The Secretary of State 
shall publicize that funds provided to the Anti-Corruption 
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Action Fund originate from actions brought under the 
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act so as to demonstrate that 
monies obtained under such Act are contributing to inter-
national anti-corruption work under this section, including 
by reducing the pressure that United States businesses 
face to pay bribes overseas, thereby contributing to greater 
United States competitiveness. 
SEC. 7. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall have 
primary responsibility for managing a whole-of-govern-
ment effort to improve coordination among United States 
Government departments and agencies, as well as with 
other donor organizations, that have a role in promoting 
good governance in foreign states and enhancing the abil-
ity of foreign states to combat public corruption. 
(b) INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE.—Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of State shall establish and convene an Interagency 
Task Force composed of— 
(1) representatives appointed by the President 
from appropriate departments and agencies, includ-
ing the Department of State, the United States 
Agency for International Development (USAID), the 
Department of Justice, the Department of the 
Treasury, the Department of Homeland Security, 
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the Department of Defense, the Department of 
Commerce, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, 
and the intelligence community; and 
(2) representatives from any other United 
States Government departments or agencies, as de-
termined by the Secretary. 
(c) ADDITIONAL MEETINGS.—The Interagency Task 
Force established in subsection (b) shall meet not less 
than twice per year. 
(d) DUTIES.—The Interagency Task Force estab-
lished in subsection (b) shall— 
(1) evaluate, on a general basis, the effective-
ness of existing foreign assistance programs, includ-
ing programs funded by the Anti-Corruption Action 
Fund under section 6, that have an impact on pro-
moting good governance in foreign states and en-
hancing the ability of foreign states to combat public 
corruption; 
(2) assist the Secretary of State in managing 
the whole-of-government effort described in sub-
section (a); 
(3) identify general areas in which such whole- 
of-government effort could be enhanced; and 
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(4) recommend specific programs for foreign 
states that may be used to enhance such whole-of- 
government effort. 
SEC. 8. DESIGNATION OF EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION 
POINTS OF CONTACT. 
(a) EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION POINT
OF CON-
TACT.—The chief of mission of each United States em-
bassy shall designate an anti-corruption point of contact 
for each such embassy. 
(b) DUTIES.—The designated anti-corruption points 
of contact under subsection (a) shall— 
(1) with guidance from the Interagency Task 
Force established under section 7, coordinate an 
interagency approach within United States embas-
sies to combat public corruption in the foreign states 
in which such embassies are located that is tailored 
to the needs of such foreign states, including all rel-
evant United States Government departments and 
agencies with a presence in such foreign states, such 
as the Department of State, USAID, the Depart-
ment of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, 
the Department of Homeland Security, the Depart-
ment of Defense, the Millennium Challenge Corpora-
tion, and the intelligence community; 
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(2) make recommendations regarding the use of 
the Anti-Corruption Action Fund under section 6 
and other foreign assistance related to anti-corrup-
tion efforts in their respective foreign states, align-
ing such assistance with United States diplomatic 
engagement; and 
(3) ensure that anti-corruption activities carried 
out within their respective foreign states are in-
cluded in regular reporting to the Secretary of State 
and the Interagency Task Force under section 7, in-
cluding United States embassy strategic planning 
documents and foreign assistance-related reporting, 
as appropriate. 
(c) TRAINING.—The Secretary of State shall develop 
and implement appropriate training for designated anti- 
corruption points of contact under this section. 
SEC. 9. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS. 
(a) 
REPORT
ON
PROMOTING
INTERNATIONAL 
STANDARDS IN COMBATING CORRUPTION, KLEPTOCRACY, 
AND ILLICIT FINANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Administrator of the USAID and 
the Secretary of the Treasury, shall submit to the appro-
priate congressional committees a report that— 
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(1) summarizes any progress made by foreign 
states to adopt and implement each of the inter-
national 
standards 
in 
combating 
corruption, 
kleptocracy, and illicit finance listed in section 4; 
(2) details the efforts of the United States Gov-
ernment to promote such international standards; 
(3) identifies priority countries for outreach re-
garding such international standards; and 
(4) outlines a plan to encourage the adoption 
and implementation of such international standards, 
including specific steps to take with the priority 
countries identified in accordance with paragraph 
(3). 
(b) REPORT ON PROGRESS TOWARD IMPLEMENTA-
TION.—Not later than one year after the date of the enact-
ment of this Act and annually thereafter for three years, 
the Secretary of State, in consultation with the Adminis-
trator of the USAID, shall submit to the appropriate con-
gressional committees a report summarizing progress in 
implementing this Act, including— 
(1) a description of the bureaucratic structure 
of the offices within the Department and USAID 
that are engaged in activities to combat corruption, 
kleptocracy, and illicit finance, and how such offices 
coordinate with one another; 
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(2) information relating to the amount of funds 
deposited in the Anti-Corruption Action Fund estab-
lished under section 6 and the obligation, expendi-
ture, and impact of such funds; 
(3) the activities of the Interagency Task Force 
established pursuant to section 7(b); 
(4) the designation of anti-corruption points of 
contact for foreign states pursuant to section 8(a) 
and any training provided to such points of contact 
pursuant to section 8(c); and 
(5) additional resources or personnel needs to 
better achieve the goals of this Act to combat cor-
ruption, kleptocracy, and illicit finance overseas. 
(c) ONLINE PLATFORM.—The Secretary of State, in 
conjunction with the Administrator of the USAID, shall 
consolidate existing reports and briefings with anti-corrup-
tion components into one online, public platform, that in-
cludes the following: 
(1) The Annual Country Reports on Human 
Rights Practices. 
(2) The Fiscal Transparency Report. 
(3) The Investment Climate Statement reports. 
(4) The International Narcotics Control Strat-
egy Report. 
(5) Any other relevant public reports. 
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(6) Links to third-party indicators and compli-
ance mechanisms used by the United States Govern-
ment to inform policy and programming, such as the 
following: 
(A) The International Finance Corpora-
tion’s Doing Business surveys. 
(B) The International Budget Partner-
ship’s Open Budget Index. 
(C) Multilateral peer review anti-corrup-
tion compliance mechanisms, such as the 
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and 
Development’s Working Group on Bribery in 
International Business Transactions, the Fol-
low-Up Mechanism for the Inter-American Con-
vention against Corruption (MESICIC), and 
the United Nations Convention against Corrup-
tion, done at New York October 31, 2003, to 
further highlight expert international views on 
foreign state challenges and efforts. 
Æ 
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