This bill requires the Secretary of State to publish an annual, public, tiered ranking of all foreign countries based on how well their governments prevent and punish corruption. It defines key terms (corrupt actor, corruption, significant corruption) and sets minimum standards for eliminating corruption, including having laws, enforcing them through fair judicial processes, and treating major corruption as a serious crime.
The Secretary of State must assess countries using factors such as criminal investigations and prosecutions, judicial independence, protection for whistleblowers and victims, financial transparency (including beneficial ownership), international cooperation, and other relevant measures. The Secretary should evaluate whether individuals in tier 3 countries (those making de minimis or no efforts to meet the standards) should be considered for sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The Secretary must report to specified congressional committees within 180 days after the first list and annually thereafter. The bill also requires annual designation of an anti-corruption point of contact at U.S. diplomatic posts in tier 2 and tier 3 countries, and training for those contacts.
If enacted, this bill would create a public, yearly country ranking about government corruption and require the State Department to look for people in the worst-ranked countries who might face sanctions. U.S. diplomatic posts in many countries would name an anti-corruption point of contact and receive training. The text does not change domestic criminal law or create new domestic rights.
No publicly available information on estimated costs or budgetary effects. The bill requires annual reporting, publishing, evaluations, embassy designations, and training, but it does not include cost estimates or appropriations.
The bill’s sponsors aim to identify and combat corruption worldwide by setting clear standards, publicly ranking countries, encouraging governments to improve, focusing sanction reviews on the worst performers, and improving coordination through embassy anti-corruption contacts and training.
No publicly available information.