Thread by @JoshRudes

Authoritarians have spent more than $300 million interfering in politics more than 100 times in 33 countries over the past decade.

We bucketed the cases into the top 7 legal loopholes and consulted 90+ experts to craft targeted policy fixes.

New Report: securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/covert-foreign…

I told @ak_mack that covert foreign money is just as threatening as online interference and it would be comparatively easier to build resilience to these financial weapons by closing legal loopholes. foreignpolicy.com/2020/08/18/leg…

This interference tool, which we call "malign finance," is less studied but just as common as cyber and disinfo. In a typical case, a regime oligarch funnels $1 million to a favored political party (although buying influence in a national election costs more like $3-15 million).

Authoritarians send operatives on secret missions to enrich donors and politicians all over the world. Think elite Russian expats in London, CCP straw donors in the Asia-Pacific, Yevgeny Prigozhin in Africa, the UAE courting HRC in 2016.

Hence we need a bill like the SHIELD Act.

Shell companies have been used to fund political interference 8 times, from Parnas–Fruman to a web of London entities controlled by Dmytro Firtash. Non-profits are used for secret party funding, tactical jobs, and elite capture ops.

Solutions look like the AML and DISCLOSE acts.

Broader than money flowing through straw donors, shell companies, non-profits, and other conduits, malign finance includes a range of support mechanisms innovated by authoritarian regimes to interfere in democracies, from intangible gifts to media assistance. Here's a breakdown👇

Russia lavishes gifts on Swiss prosecutors, loans to Marine Le Pen, and intangible "things of value" for Trump's 2016 campaign. The Kremlin gives black-market media services through oligarchs like Prigozhin, state firms like Rosatom, groups like WikiLeaks, and other chaos agents.

The frequency of financial attacks jumped from 2-3 annually before 2014 to 15-30 in each year since 2016. We know this is a true acceleration—not just the West paying more attention—thanks to detailed reporting about how Putin and Xi authorized major campaigns in 2014-2016.

Half of all malign financial activity involves Russia targeting Europe, but China does it too against Australia, New Zealand, and the Czech Republic. And both regimes bribe African leaders. The most common target of malign finance—hit more than 25 times—is the United States.

#CovertForeignMoney is the most underappreciated external threat to democracy. We have the proof, found the loopholes, and developed targeted policy fixes that should get bipartisan support. To enact these reforms next year, Congress should get started now.securingdemocracy.gmfus.org/covert-foreign…