CROOK Act
Bill: S.158 | Sponsor: Sen. Cardin, Benjamin L. (D-MD)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Countering Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act or the CROOK Act
This bill requires various actions designed to combat public corruption in foreign countries.
The bill establishes within the Department of the Treasury the Anti-Corruption Action Fund to help foreign states fight public corruption and develop rule-of-law-based governance structures. For certain fines and penalties imposed under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, an additional fine shall be imposed and deposited into the fund.
The Department of State must (1) manage U.S. government efforts to fight foreign public corruption, and (2) establish an interagency task force to assist in coordinating such efforts.
Each U.S. embassy must have a point of contact responsible for coordinating the embassy's anti-corruption efforts.
The State Department must report to Congress on its anti-corruption activities and make various reports publicly available online.

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 Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Titles.--This Act may be cited as the ``Countering 
Russian and Other Overseas Kleptocracy Act'' or the ``CROOK Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short titles; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Statement of policy.
Sec. 5. Anti-Corruption Action Fund.
Sec. 6. Interagency Anti-Corruption Task Force.
Sec. 7. Designation of embassy anti-corruption points of contact.
Sec. 8. Reporting requirements.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Authoritarian leaders in foreign countries abuse their 
        power to steal assets from state institutions, enrich 
        themselves at the expense of their countries' 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, weakens democratic governance, feeds 
        terrorist recruitment and transnational organized crime, 
        enables drug smuggling and human trafficking, and stymies 
        economic growth.
            (3) Illicit financial flows often penetrate countries 
        through what appear to be legitimate financial transactions, as 
        kleptocrats launder money, use shell companies, amass offshore 
        wealth, and participate in a global shadow economy.
            (4) The Government of the Russian Federation is a leading 
        model of this type of kleptocratic system, using state-
        sanctioned corruption to both erode democratic governance from 
        within and discredit democracy abroad, thereby strengthening 
        the authoritarian rule of Vladimir Putin.
            (5) Corrupt individuals and entities in the Russian 
        Federation, often with the backing and encouragement of 
        political leadership, use stolen money--
                    (A) to purchase key assets in other countries, 
                often with a goal of attaining monopolistic control of 
                a sector;
                    (B) to gain access to and influence the policies of 
                other countries; and
                    (C) to advance Russian interests in other 
                countries, particularly those that undermine confidence 
                and trust in democratic systems.
            (6) Systemic corruption in the People's Republic of China, 
        often tied to, directed by, or backed by the leadership of the 
        Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese Government is used--
                    (A) to provide unfair advantage to certain People's 
                Republic of China economic entities;
                    (B) to increase other countries' economic 
                dependence on the People's Republic of China to secure 
                greater deference to the People's Republic of China's 
                diplomatic and strategic goals; and
                    (C) to exploit corruption in foreign governments 
                and among other political elites to enable People's 
                Republic of China state-backed firms to pursue 
                predatory and exploitative economic practices.
            (7) Thwarting these tactics by Russian, Chinese, and other 
        kleptocratic actors requires the international community to 
        strengthen democratic governance and the rule of law. 
        International cooperation in combating corruption and illicit 
        finance is vital to such efforts, especially by empowering 
        reformers in foreign countries during historic political 
        openings for the establishment of the rule of law in those 
        countries.
            (8) Technical assistance programs that combat corruption 
        and strengthen the rule of law, including through assistance 
        provided by the Department of State's Bureau of International 
        Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs and the United States 
        Agency for International Development, and through programs like 
        the Department of Justice's Office of Overseas Prosecutorial 
        Development, Assistance and Training and the International 
        Criminal Investigative Training Assistance Program, can have 
        lasting and significant impacts for both foreign and United 
        States interests.
            (9) There currently exist numerous international 
        instruments to combat corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit 
        finance, including--
                    (A) the Inter-American Convention against 
                Corruption of the Organization of American States, done 
                at Caracas March 29, 1996;
                    (B) the Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign 
                Public Officials in International Business Transactions 
                of the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and 
                Development, done at Paris December 21, 1997 (commonly 
                referred to as the ``Anti-Bribery Convention'');
                    (C) the United Nations Convention against 
                Transnational Organized Crime, done at New York 
                November 15, 2000;
                    (D) the United Nations Convention against 
                Corruption, done at New York October 31, 2003;
                    (E) Recommendation of the Council for Further 
                Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in 
                International Business Transactions, adopted November 
                26, 2009; and
                    (F) recommendations of the Financial Action Task 
                Force comprising the International Standards on 
                Combating Money Laundering and the Financing of 
                Terrorism and Proliferation.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Appropriate congressional committees.--The term 
        ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
                    (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the 
                Senate;
                    (B) the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
                Affairs of the Senate;
                    (C) the Committee on Finance of the Senate;
                    (D) the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate;
                    (E) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 
                of Representatives;
                    (F) the Committee on Financial Services of the 
                House of Representatives;
                    (G) the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of 
                Representatives; and
                    (H) the Committee on the Judiciary of the House of 
                Representatives.
            (2) Foreign assistance.--The term ``foreign assistance'' 
        means foreign assistance authorized under the Foreign 
        Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2251 et seq.).
            (3) Foreign state.--The term ``foreign state'' has the 
        meaning given such term in section 1603(a) of title 28, United 
        States Code.
            (4) 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)).
            (5) Public corruption.--The term ``public corruption'' 
        includes the unlawful exercise of entrusted public power for 
        private gain, such as through bribery, nepotism, fraud, 
        extortion, or embezzlement.
            (6) Rule of law.--The term ``rule of law'' means the 
        principle of governance in which all persons, institutions, and 
        entities, whether public or private, including the state, are 
        accountable to laws that are--
                    (A) publicly promulgated;
                    (B) equally enforced;
                    (C) independently adjudicated; and
                    (D) consistent with international human rights 
                norms and standards.

SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

    It is the policy of the United States--
            (1) to leverage United States diplomatic engagement and 
        foreign assistance to promote the rule of law;
            (2)(A) to promote international instruments to combat 
        corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit finance, including 
        instruments referred to in section 2(9), and other relevant 
        international standards and best practices, as such standards 
        and practices develop; and
            (B) to promote the adoption and implementation of such 
        laws, standards, and practices by foreign states;
            (3) to support foreign states in promoting good governance 
        and combating public corruption;
            (4) to encourage and assist foreign partner countries to 
        identify and close loopholes in their legal and financial 
        architecture, including the misuse of anonymous shell 
        companies, free trade zones, and other legal structures, that 
        are enabling illicit finance to penetrate their financial 
        systems;
            (5) to help foreign partner countries to investigate, 
        prosecute, adjudicate, and more generally combat the use of 
        corruption by malign actors, including authoritarian 
        governments, particularly the Government of the Russian 
        Federation and the Government of the People's Republic of 
        China, as a tool of malign influence worldwide;
            (6) to assist in the recovery of kleptocracy-related stolen 
        assets for victims, including through the use of appropriate 
        bilateral arrangements and international agreements, such as 
        the United Nations Convention against Corruption, done at New 
        York October 31, 2003, and the United Nations Convention 
        against Transnational Organized Crime, done at New York 
        November 15, 2000;
            (7) to use sanctions authorities, such as the Global 
        Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title 
        XII of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 
        2017 (Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note)) and section 
        7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and 
        Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020 (division G of Public 
        Law 116-94), to identify and take action against corrupt 
        foreign actors;
            (8) to ensure coordination between relevant Federal 
        departments and agencies with jurisdiction over the advancement 
        of good governance in foreign states; and
            (9) to lead the creation of a formal grouping of like-
        minded states--
                    (A) to coordinate efforts to counter corruption, 
                kleptocracy, and illicit finance; and
                    (B) to strengthen collective financial defense.

SEC. 5. ANTI-CORRUPTION ACTION FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established in the United States 
Treasury a fund, to be known as the ``Anti-Corruption Action Fund'', 
only for the purposes of--
            (1) strengthening the capacity of foreign states to prevent 
        and fight public corruption;
            (2) assisting foreign states to develop rule of law-based 
        governance structures, including accountable civilian police, 
        prosecutorial, and judicial institutions;
            (3) supporting foreign states to strengthen domestic legal 
        and regulatory frameworks to combat public corruption, 
        including the adoption of best practices under international 
        law; and
            (4) supplementing existing foreign assistance and diplomacy 
        with respect to efforts described in paragraphs (1), (2), and 
        (3).
    (b) Funding.--
            (1) Transfers.--Beginning on or after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, if total criminal fines and penalties in 
        excess of $50,000,000 are imposed against a person under the 
        Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 (Public Law 95-213) or 
        section 13, 30A, or 32 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 
        (15 U.S.C. 78m, 78dd-1, and 78ff), whether pursuant to a 
        criminal prosecution, enforcement proceeding, deferred 
        prosecution agreement, nonprosecution agreement, a declination 
        to prosecute or enforce, or any other resolution, the court (in 
        the case of a conviction) or the Attorney General shall impose 
        an additional prevention payment equal to $5,000,000 against 
        such person, which shall be deposited in the Anti-Corruption 
        Action Fund established under subsection (a).
            (2) Availability of funds.--Amounts deposited into the 
        Anti-Corruption Action Fund pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be 
        available to the Secretary of State only for the purposes 
        described in subsection (a), without fiscal year limitation or 
        need for subsequent appropriation.
            (3) Limitation.--None of the amounts made available to the 
        Secretary of State from the Anti-Corruption Action Fund may be 
        used inside the United States, except for administrative costs 
        related to overseas program implementation pursuant to 
        subsection (a).
    (c) Support.--The Anti-Corruption Action Fund--
            (1) may support governmental and nongovernmental parties in 
        advancing the purposes described in subsection (a); and
            (2) shall be allocated in a manner complementary to 
        existing United States foreign assistance, diplomacy, and anti-
        corruption activities.
    (d) Allocation and Prioritization.--In programming foreign 
assistance made available through the Anti-Corruption Action Fund, the 
Secretary of State, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall 
prioritize projects that--
            (1) assist countries that are undergoing historic 
        opportunities for democratic transition, combating corruption, 
        and the establishment of the rule of law; and
            (2) are important to United States national interests.
    (e) Technical Assistance Providers.--For any technical assistance 
to a foreign governmental party under this section, the Secretary of 
State, in coordination with the Attorney General, shall prioritize 
United States Government technical assistance providers as 
implementers, in particular the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial 
Development, Assistance and Training and the International Criminal 
Investigative Training Assistance Program at the Department of Justice.
    (f) Public Diplomacy.--The Secretary of State shall announce that 
funds deposited in the Anti-Corruption Action Fund are derived from 
actions brought under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to demonstrate 
that the use of such funds are--
            (1) contributing to international anti-corruption work; and
            (2) reducing the pressure that United States businesses 
        face to pay bribes overseas, thereby contributing to greater 
        competitiveness of United States companies.
    (g) Reporting.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and not less frequently than annually thereafter, 
the Secretary of State shall submit a report to the appropriate 
congressional committees that contains--
            (1) the balance of the funding remaining in the Anti-
        Corruption Action Fund;
            (2) the amount of funds that have been deposited into the 
        Anti-Corruption Action Fund; and
            (3) a summary of the obligation and expenditure of such 
        funds.
    (h) Notification Requirements.--None of the amounts made available 
to the Secretary of State from the Anti-Corruption Action Fund pursuant 
to this section shall be available for obligation, or for transfer to 
other departments, agencies, or entities, unless the Secretary of State 
notifies the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, the 
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate, the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on 
Appropriations of the House of Representatives, not later than 15 days 
in advance of such obligation or transfer.

SEC. 6. INTERAGENCY ANTI-CORRUPTION TASK FORCE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary of State, in cooperation with the 
Interagency Anti-Corruption Task Force established pursuant to 
subsection (b), shall manage a whole-of-government effort to improve 
coordination among Federal departments and agencies and donor 
organizations with a role in--
            (1) promoting good governance in foreign states; and
            (2) enhancing the ability of foreign states to combat 
        public corruption.
    (b) Interagency Anti-Corruption Task Force.--Not later than 180 
days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
State shall establish and convene the Interagency Anti-Corruption Task 
Force (referred to in this section as the ``Task Force''), which shall 
be composed of representatives appointed by the President from 
appropriate departments and agencies, including the Department of 
State, the United States Agency for International Development, the 
Department of Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Department 
of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of 
Commerce, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, and the intelligence 
community.
    (c) Additional Meetings.--The Task Force shall meet not less 
frequently than twice per year.
    (d) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) evaluate, on a general basis, the effectiveness of 
        existing foreign assistance programs, including programs funded 
        by the Anti-Corruption Action Fund, that have an impact on--
                    (A) promoting good governance in foreign states; 
                and
                    (B) enhancing the ability of foreign states to 
                combat public corruption;
            (2) assist the Secretary of State in managing the whole-of-
        government effort described in subsection (a);
            (3) identify general areas in which such whole-of-
        government effort could be enhanced; and
            (4) recommend specific programs for foreign states that may 
        be used to enhance such whole-of-government effort.
    (e) Briefing Requirement.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act and not less frequently than annually 
thereafter through the end of fiscal year 2026, the Secretary of State 
shall provide a briefing to the appropriate congressional committees 
regarding the ongoing work of the Task Force. The briefing shall 
include the participation of a representative of each of the 
departments and agencies described in subsection (b), to the extent 
feasible.

SEC. 7. DESIGNATION OF EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION POINTS OF CONTACT.

    (a) Embassy Anti-Corruption Point of Contact.--The chief of mission 
of each United States embassy shall designate an anti-corruption point 
of contact for each such embassy.
    (b) Duties.--The designated anti-corruption points of contact 
designated pursuant to subsection (a) shall--
            (1) coordinate, in accordance with guidance from the 
        Interagency Anti-Corruption Task Force established pursuant to 
        section 6(b), an interagency approach within United States 
        embassies 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 relevant Federal 
        departments and agencies with a presence in such foreign 
        states, such as the Department of State, the United States 
        Agency for International Development, the Department of 
        Justice, the Department of the Treasury, the Department of 
        Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Millennium 
        Challenge Corporation, and the intelligence community;
            (2) make recommendations regarding the use of the Anti-
        Corruption Action Fund and other foreign assistance funding 
        related to anti-corruption efforts in their respective 
        countries of responsibility that aligns with United States 
        diplomatic engagement; and
            (3) ensure that anti-corruption activities carried out 
        within their respective countries of responsibility are 
        included in regular reporting to the Secretary of State and the 
        Interagency Anti-Corruption Task Force, including 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 the designated anti-corruption points of 
contact.

SEC. 8. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    (a) Report or Briefing on Progress Toward Implementation.--Not 
later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 
annually thereafter for the following 3 years, the Secretary of State, 
in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
International Development, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of 
the Treasury, shall submit a report or provide a briefing to the 
appropriate congressional committees that summarizes progress made in 
combating public corruption and in implementing this Act, including--
            (1) identifying opportunities and priorities for outreach 
        with respect to promoting the adoption and implementation of 
        relevant international law and standards in combating public 
        corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit finance;
            (2) describing--
                    (A) the bureaucratic structure of the offices 
                within the Department of State and the United States 
                Agency for International Development that are engaged 
                in activities to combat public corruption, kleptocracy, 
                and illicit finance; and
                    (B) how such offices coordinate their efforts with 
                each other and with other relevant Federal departments 
                and agencies;
            (3) providing a description of how the provisions under 
        subsections (d) and (e) of section 5 have been applied to each 
        project funded by the Anti-Corruption Action Fund;
            (4) providing an explanation as to why a United States 
        Government technical assistance provider was not used if 
        technical assistance to a foreign governmental entity is not 
        implemented by a United States Government technical assistance 
        provider;
            (5) describing the activities of the Interagency Anti-
        Corruption Task Force established pursuant to section 6(b);
            (6) identifying--
                    (A) the designated anti-corruption points of 
                contact for foreign states; and
                    (B) any training provided to such points of 
                contact; and
            (7) recommending additional measures that would enhance the 
        ability of the United States Government to combat public 
        corruption, kleptocracy, and illicit finance overseas.
    (b) Online Platform.--The Secretary of State, in conjunction with 
the Administrator of the United States Agency for International 
Development, should consolidate existing reports with anti-corruption 
components into a single online, public platform that includes--
            (1) the Annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 
        required under section 116 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 
        1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151n);
            (2) the Fiscal Transparency Report required under section 
        7031(b) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations and 
        Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2019 (division F of Public 
        Law 116-6);
            (3) the Investment Climate Statement reports;
            (4) the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report;
            (5) any other relevant public reports; and
            (6) links to third-party indicators and compliance 
        mechanisms used by the United States Government to inform 
        policy and programming, as appropriate, such as--
                    (A) the International Finance Corporation's Doing 
                Business surveys;
                    (B) the International Budget Partnership's Open 
                Budget Index; and
                    (C) multilateral peer review anti-corruption 
                compliance mechanisms, such as--
                            (i) the Organisation for Economic Co-
                        operation and Development's Working Group on 
                        Bribery in International Business Transactions;
                            (ii) the Follow-Up Mechanism for the Inter-
                        American Convention Against Corruption; and
                            (iii) the United Nations Convention Against 
                        Corruption, done at New York October 31, 2003.
                                 <all>