1 | 1 | | I |
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2 | 2 | | 119THCONGRESS |
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3 | 3 | | 1 |
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4 | 4 | | STSESSION H. R. 385 |
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5 | 5 | | To identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish a tiered list |
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6 | 6 | | of countries with respect to levels of corruption by their governments |
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7 | 7 | | and their efforts to combat such corruption, and to evaluate whether |
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8 | 8 | | foreign persons engaged in significant corruption should be specially |
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9 | 9 | | designated nationals under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Account- |
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10 | 10 | | ability Act. |
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11 | 11 | | IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
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12 | 12 | | JANUARY14, 2025 |
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13 | 13 | | Mr. C |
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14 | 14 | | OHEN(for himself, Mr. KEATING, Mr. WILSONof South Carolina, and |
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15 | 15 | | Ms. S |
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16 | 16 | | ALAZAR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the |
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17 | 17 | | Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on the |
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18 | 18 | | Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in |
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19 | 19 | | each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- |
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20 | 20 | | tion of the committee concerned |
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21 | 21 | | A BILL |
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22 | 22 | | To identify and combat corruption in countries, to establish |
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23 | 23 | | a tiered list of countries with respect to levels of corrup- |
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24 | 24 | | tion by their governments and their efforts to combat |
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25 | 25 | | such corruption, and to evaluate whether foreign persons |
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26 | 26 | | engaged in significant corruption should be specially des- |
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27 | 27 | | ignated nationals under the Global Magnitsky Human |
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28 | 28 | | Rights Accountability Act. |
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29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-1 |
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30 | 30 | | tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 |
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33 | 33 | | •HR 385 IH |
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34 | 34 | | SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 |
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35 | 35 | | This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Combating Global Cor-2 |
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36 | 36 | | ruption Act of 2025’’. 3 |
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37 | 37 | | SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 4 |
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38 | 38 | | In this Act: 5 |
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39 | 39 | | (1) C |
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40 | 40 | | ORRUPT ACTOR .—The term ‘‘corrupt 6 |
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41 | 41 | | actor’’ means— 7 |
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42 | 42 | | (A) any foreign person or entity that is a 8 |
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43 | 43 | | government official or government entity re-9 |
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44 | 44 | | sponsible for, or complicit in, an act of corrup-10 |
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45 | 45 | | tion; and 11 |
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46 | 46 | | (B) any company, in which a person or en-12 |
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47 | 47 | | tity described in subparagraph (A) has a sig-13 |
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48 | 48 | | nificant stake, which is responsible for, or 14 |
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49 | 49 | | complicit in, an act of corruption. 15 |
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50 | 50 | | (2) C |
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51 | 51 | | ORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘corruption’’ 16 |
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52 | 52 | | means the unlawful exercise of entrusted public 17 |
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53 | 53 | | power for private gain, including by bribery, nepo-18 |
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54 | 54 | | tism, fraud, or embezzlement. 19 |
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55 | 55 | | (3) S |
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56 | 56 | | IGNIFICANT CORRUPTION.—The term ‘‘sig-20 |
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57 | 57 | | nificant corruption’’ means corruption committed at 21 |
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58 | 58 | | a high level of government that— 22 |
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59 | 59 | | (A) illegitimately distorts major decision- 23 |
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60 | 60 | | making, such as policy or resource determina-24 |
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61 | 61 | | tions, or other fundamental functions of govern-25 |
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62 | 62 | | ance; and 26 |
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65 | 65 | | •HR 385 IH |
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66 | 66 | | (B) involves economically or socially large- 1 |
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67 | 67 | | scale government activities. 2 |
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68 | 68 | | SEC. 3. PUBLICATION OF TIERED RANKING LIST. 3 |
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69 | 69 | | (a) I |
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70 | 70 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall an-4 |
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71 | 71 | | nually publish, on a publicly accessible website, a tiered 5 |
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72 | 72 | | ranking of all foreign countries. 6 |
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73 | 73 | | (b) T |
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74 | 74 | | IER1 COUNTRIES.—A country shall be ranked 7 |
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75 | 75 | | as a tier 1 country in the ranking published under sub-8 |
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76 | 76 | | section (a) if the government of such country is complying 9 |
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77 | 77 | | with the minimum standards set forth in section 4. 10 |
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78 | 78 | | (c) T |
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79 | 79 | | IER2 COUNTRIES.—A country shall be ranked 11 |
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80 | 80 | | as a tier 2 country in the ranking published under sub-12 |
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81 | 81 | | section (a) if the government of such country is making 13 |
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82 | 82 | | efforts to comply with the minimum standards set forth 14 |
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83 | 83 | | in section 4, but is not achieving the requisite level of com-15 |
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84 | 84 | | pliance to be ranked as a tier 1 country. 16 |
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85 | 85 | | (d) T |
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86 | 86 | | IER3 COUNTRIES.—A country shall be ranked 17 |
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87 | 87 | | as a tier 3 country in the ranking published under sub-18 |
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88 | 88 | | section (a) if the government of such country is making 19 |
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89 | 89 | | de minimis or no efforts to comply with the minimum 20 |
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90 | 90 | | standards set forth in section 4. 21 |
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93 | 93 | | •HR 385 IH |
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94 | 94 | | SEC. 4. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF 1 |
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95 | 95 | | CORRUPTION AND ASSESSMENT OF EFFORTS 2 |
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96 | 96 | | TO COMBAT CORRUPTION. 3 |
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97 | 97 | | (a) I |
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98 | 98 | | NGENERAL.—The government of a country is 4 |
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99 | 99 | | complying with the minimum standards for the elimi-5 |
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100 | 100 | | nation of corruption if the government— 6 |
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101 | 101 | | (1) has enacted and implemented laws and es-7 |
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102 | 102 | | tablished government structures, policies, and prac-8 |
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103 | 103 | | tices that prohibit and generally deter corruption, in-9 |
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104 | 104 | | cluding significant corruption; 10 |
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105 | 105 | | (2) enforces the laws described in paragraph (1) 11 |
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106 | 106 | | by punishing any person who is found, through a 12 |
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107 | 107 | | fair judicial process, to have violated such laws; 13 |
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108 | 108 | | (3) prescribes punishment for significant cor-14 |
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109 | 109 | | ruption that is commensurate with the punishment 15 |
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110 | 110 | | prescribed for serious crimes; and 16 |
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111 | 111 | | (4) is making serious and sustained efforts to 17 |
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112 | 112 | | address corruption, including through prevention. 18 |
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113 | 113 | | (b) F |
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114 | 114 | | ACTORS FOR ASSESSINGGOVERNMENT EF-19 |
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115 | 115 | | FORTSTOCOMBATCORRUPTION.—In determining wheth-20 |
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116 | 116 | | er a government is making serious and sustained efforts 21 |
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117 | 117 | | to address corruption, the Secretary of State shall con-22 |
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118 | 118 | | sider, to the extent relevant or appropriate, factors such 23 |
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119 | 119 | | as— 24 |
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120 | 120 | | (1) whether the government of the country has 25 |
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121 | 121 | | criminalized corruption, investigates and prosecutes 26 |
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124 | 124 | | •HR 385 IH |
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125 | 125 | | acts of corruption, and convicts and sentences per-1 |
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126 | 126 | | sons responsible for such acts over which it has ju-2 |
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127 | 127 | | risdiction, including, as appropriate, incarcerating 3 |
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128 | 128 | | individuals convicted of such acts; 4 |
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129 | 129 | | (2) whether the government of the country vig-5 |
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130 | 130 | | orously investigates, prosecutes, convicts, and sen-6 |
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131 | 131 | | tences public officials who participate in or facilitate 7 |
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132 | 132 | | corruption, including nationals of the country who 8 |
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133 | 133 | | are deployed in foreign military assignments, trade 9 |
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134 | 134 | | delegations abroad, or other similar missions, who 10 |
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135 | 135 | | engage in or facilitate significant corruption; 11 |
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136 | 136 | | (3) whether the government of the country has 12 |
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137 | 137 | | adopted measures to prevent corruption, such as 13 |
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138 | 138 | | measures to inform and educate the public, including 14 |
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139 | 139 | | potential victims, about the causes and consequences 15 |
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140 | 140 | | of corruption; 16 |
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141 | 141 | | (4) whether the government of the country has 17 |
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142 | 142 | | taken steps to prohibit government officials from 18 |
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143 | 143 | | participating in, facilitating, or condoning corrup-19 |
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144 | 144 | | tion, including the investigation, prosecution, and 20 |
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145 | 145 | | conviction of such officials; 21 |
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146 | 146 | | (5) the extent to which the country provides ac-22 |
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147 | 147 | | cess, or, as appropriate, makes adequate resources 23 |
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148 | 148 | | available, to civil society organizations and other in-24 |
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151 | 151 | | •HR 385 IH |
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152 | 152 | | stitutions to combat corruption, including reporting, 1 |
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153 | 153 | | investigating, and monitoring; 2 |
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154 | 154 | | (6) whether an independent judiciary or judicial 3 |
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155 | 155 | | body in the country is responsible for, and effectively 4 |
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156 | 156 | | capable of, deciding corruption cases impartially, on 5 |
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157 | 157 | | the basis of facts and in accordance with the law, 6 |
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158 | 158 | | without any improper restrictions, influences, in-7 |
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159 | 159 | | ducements, pressures, threats, or interferences (di-8 |
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160 | 160 | | rect or indirect); 9 |
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161 | 161 | | (7) whether the government of the country is 10 |
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162 | 162 | | assisting in international investigations of 11 |
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163 | 163 | | transnational corruption networks and in other coop-12 |
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164 | 164 | | erative efforts to combat significant corruption, in-13 |
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165 | 165 | | cluding, as appropriate, cooperating with the govern-14 |
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166 | 166 | | ments of other countries to extradite corrupt actors; 15 |
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167 | 167 | | (8) whether the government of the country rec-16 |
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168 | 168 | | ognizes the rights of victims of corruption, ensures 17 |
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169 | 169 | | their access to justice, and takes steps to prevent 18 |
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170 | 170 | | victims from being further victimized or persecuted 19 |
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171 | 171 | | by corrupt actors, government officials, or others; 20 |
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172 | 172 | | (9) whether the government of the country pro-21 |
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173 | 173 | | tects victims of corruption or whistleblowers from re-22 |
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174 | 174 | | prisal due to such persons having assisted in expos-23 |
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175 | 175 | | ing corruption, and refrains from other discrimina-24 |
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176 | 176 | | tory treatment of such persons; 25 |
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179 | 179 | | •HR 385 IH |
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180 | 180 | | (10) whether the government of the country is 1 |
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181 | 181 | | willing and able to recover and, as appropriate, re-2 |
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182 | 182 | | turn the proceeds of corruption; 3 |
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183 | 183 | | (11) whether the government of the country is 4 |
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184 | 184 | | taking steps to implement financial transparency 5 |
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185 | 185 | | measures in line with the Financial Action Task 6 |
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186 | 186 | | Force recommendations, including due diligence and 7 |
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187 | 187 | | beneficial ownership transparency requirements; 8 |
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188 | 188 | | (12) whether the government of the country is 9 |
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189 | 189 | | facilitating corruption in other countries in connec-10 |
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190 | 190 | | tion with state-directed investment, loans or grants 11 |
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191 | 191 | | for major infrastructure, or other initiatives; and 12 |
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192 | 192 | | (13) such other information relating to corrup-13 |
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193 | 193 | | tion as the Secretary of State considers appropriate. 14 |
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194 | 194 | | (c) A |
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195 | 195 | | SSESSINGGOVERNMENTEFFORTSTOCOMBAT 15 |
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196 | 196 | | C |
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197 | 197 | | ORRUPTION IN RELATION TO RELEVANTINTER-16 |
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198 | 198 | | NATIONALCOMMITMENTS.—In determining whether a 17 |
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199 | 199 | | government is making serious and sustained efforts to ad-18 |
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200 | 200 | | dress corruption, the Secretary of State shall consider the 19 |
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201 | 201 | | government of a country’s compliance with the following, 20 |
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202 | 202 | | as relevant: 21 |
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203 | 203 | | (1) The Inter-American Convention against 22 |
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204 | 204 | | Corruption of the Organization of American States, 23 |
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205 | 205 | | done at Caracas March 29, 1996. 24 |
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208 | 208 | | •HR 385 IH |
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209 | 209 | | (2) The Convention on Combating Bribery of 1 |
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210 | 210 | | Foreign Public Officials in International Business 2 |
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211 | 211 | | Transactions of the Organisation of Economic Co- 3 |
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212 | 212 | | operation and Development, done at Paris December 4 |
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213 | 213 | | 21, 1997 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Anti-Brib-5 |
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214 | 214 | | ery Convention’’). 6 |
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215 | 215 | | (3) The United Nations Convention against 7 |
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216 | 216 | | Transnational Organized Crime, done at New York 8 |
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217 | 217 | | November 15, 2000. 9 |
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218 | 218 | | (4) The United Nations Convention against 10 |
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219 | 219 | | Corruption, done at New York October 31, 2003. 11 |
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220 | 220 | | (5) Such other treaties, agreements, and inter-12 |
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221 | 221 | | national standards as the Secretary of State con-13 |
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222 | 222 | | siders appropriate. 14 |
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223 | 223 | | SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS UNDER GLOBAL 15 |
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224 | 224 | | MAGNITSKY HUMAN RIGHTS ACCOUNT-16 |
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225 | 225 | | ABILITY ACT. 17 |
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226 | 226 | | (a) I |
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227 | 227 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in coordi-18 |
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228 | 228 | | nation with the Secretary of the Treasury, should evaluate 19 |
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229 | 229 | | whether there are foreign persons engaged in significant 20 |
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230 | 230 | | corruption for the purposes of potential imposition of 21 |
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231 | 231 | | sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac-22 |
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232 | 232 | | countability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 23 |
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233 | 233 | | 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) in all countries identified 24 |
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234 | 234 | | as tier 3 countries under section 3. 25 |
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237 | 237 | | •HR 385 IH |
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238 | 238 | | (b) REPORTREQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 1 |
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239 | 239 | | after publishing the list required by section 3(a) and annu-2 |
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240 | 240 | | ally thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 3 |
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241 | 241 | | committees specified in subsection (e) a report that in-4 |
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242 | 242 | | cludes— 5 |
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243 | 243 | | (1) a list of foreign persons with respect to 6 |
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244 | 244 | | which the President imposed sanctions pursuant to 7 |
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245 | 245 | | the evaluation under subsection (a); 8 |
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246 | 246 | | (2) the dates on which such sanctions were im-9 |
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247 | 247 | | posed; and 10 |
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248 | 248 | | (3) the reasons for imposing such sanctions. 11 |
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249 | 249 | | (c) F |
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250 | 250 | | ORM OFREPORT.—Each report required by sub-12 |
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251 | 251 | | section (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 13 |
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252 | 252 | | include a classified annex. 14 |
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253 | 253 | | (d) B |
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254 | 254 | | RIEFING INLIEU OFREPORT.—The Secretary 15 |
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255 | 255 | | of State, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treas-16 |
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256 | 256 | | ury, may provide a briefing to the committees specified 17 |
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257 | 257 | | in subsection (e) instead of submitting a written report 18 |
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258 | 258 | | required under subsection (b), if doing so would better 19 |
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259 | 259 | | serve existing United States anti-corruption efforts or the 20 |
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260 | 260 | | national interests of the United States. 21 |
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261 | 261 | | (e) C |
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262 | 262 | | OMMITTEESSPECIFIED.—The committees speci-22 |
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263 | 263 | | fied in this subsection are— 23 |
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264 | 264 | | (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the 24 |
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265 | 265 | | Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on 25 |
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268 | 268 | | •HR 385 IH |
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269 | 269 | | Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, and the Com-1 |
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270 | 270 | | mittee on the Judiciary of the Senate; and 2 |
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271 | 271 | | (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 3 |
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272 | 272 | | Committee on Appropriations, the Committee on Fi-4 |
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273 | 273 | | nancial Services, and the Committee on the Judici-5 |
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274 | 274 | | ary of the House of Representatives. 6 |
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275 | 275 | | SEC. 6. DESIGNATION OF EMBASSY ANTI-CORRUPTION 7 |
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276 | 276 | | POINTS OF CONTACT. 8 |
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277 | 277 | | (a) I |
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278 | 278 | | NGENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall an-9 |
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279 | 279 | | nually designate an anti-corruption point of contact at the 10 |
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280 | 280 | | United States diplomatic post to each country identified 11 |
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281 | 281 | | as tier 2 or tier 3 under section 3, or which the Secretary 12 |
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282 | 282 | | otherwise determines is in need of such a point of contact. 13 |
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283 | 283 | | The point of contact shall be the chief of mission or the 14 |
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284 | 284 | | chief of mission’s designee. 15 |
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285 | 285 | | (b) R |
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286 | 286 | | ESPONSIBILITIES.—Each anti-corruption point 16 |
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287 | 287 | | of contact designated under subsection (a) shall be respon-17 |
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288 | 288 | | sible for enhancing coordination and promoting the imple-18 |
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289 | 289 | | mentation of a whole-of-government approach among the 19 |
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290 | 290 | | relevant Federal departments and agencies undertaking 20 |
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291 | 291 | | efforts to— 21 |
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292 | 292 | | (1) promote good governance in foreign coun-22 |
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293 | 293 | | tries; and 23 |
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294 | 294 | | (2) enhance the ability of such countries— 24 |
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295 | 295 | | (A) to combat public corruption; and 25 |
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299 | 299 | | (B) to develop and implement corruption 1 |
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300 | 300 | | risk assessment tools and mitigation strategies. 2 |
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301 | 301 | | (c) T |
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302 | 302 | | RAINING.—The Secretary of State shall imple-3 |
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303 | 303 | | ment appropriate training for anti-corruption points of 4 |
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304 | 304 | | contact designated under subsection (a). 5 |
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305 | 305 | | Æ |
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