Patriot Act

Trump’s Russia Sanctions Toolkit

Options to Increase Leverage to End Putin’s War Against Ukraine

Potential Consequences of FinCEN’s Beneficial Ownership Rulemaking

China in Our Backyard: How Chinese Money Laundering Organizations Enrich the Cartels

More than 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in November 2022.1 The Biden administration noted that “most of these deaths are caused by illicit synthetic drugs like clandestinely manufactured fentanyl and methamphetamine, often in combination with other drugs, including cocaine and heroin.”2 These deaths increased during the Trump administration and continue to increase today. This is simultaneously a national and local challenge. More Americans die every two weeks on average from overdose deaths than died as a result of the September 11 terror attacks, making this both a national security and a public health crisis that requires bipartisanship to meet the challenge. 

Ruble Rumble

Offensive and Defensive Measures to Defeat Russia in the Economic Domain

Strategy for a New Comprehensive U.S. Policy on Iran

Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Law and Policy

Foreword Since 9/11, countering the financing of terrorism (CFT) has been a focus of U.S. and international security policy, and an evolving feature of the regulatory and risk environment for authorities...

Top Russian Bank Launches Apparent Attempt to Evade Sanctions

Russian media reported last week that state-owned Sberbank, the country’s largest financial institution, had sold some of its assets to an obscure company established in March. The sale likely reflects...

Consider Designating Russia as a Jurisdiction of Primary Money Laundering Concern

Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) last week called on the Treasury Department to designate a Russian bank and two related entities as institutions of “primary money laundering concern” (PMLC) under Section...

Time to Sanction Russia’s Alternative to SWIFT

Per an agreement with Washington and other Western allies, the European Union last week prohibited the SWIFT financial messaging system from providing services to seven Russian banks sanctioned over Moscow’s...

Biden Administration Should Not Provide Sanctions Relief for Terrorism

As President Joe Biden looks to rejoin the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran is likely to pressure the Biden administration to provide broad sanctions relief,...

Biden, Congress Should Defend Terrorism Sanctions Imposed on Iran

Hezbollah Finance in Lebanon

A Primary-Source Review

Crisis in Lebanon

Anatomy of a Financial Collapse

Credibility Gap: China’s FATF Presidency

Time for U.S. to Finalize Designation of Iran for Money Laundering

The U.S. has moved aggressively to sanction Iran’s exports of oil,...

Trump’s Iran Crackdown Isn’t Enough to Stop Hezbollah

Unless Washington targets the group more effectively, it can outlive the pressure on Tehran.

Pompeo Needs to Confront Paraguay’s Hezbollah Problem

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is headed to Paraguay this week to garner support for the Trump Administration’s policy of ma...

Saudi Wealth Fund Woes Could Spell Worries for Silicon Valley

Silicon Valley is awash with Saudi money.

Paraguay Is a Fiscal Paradise for Terrorists

The South American country needs to do a better job patrolling its financial system—or face the consequences.

David Asher Named Senior Fellow at Foundation for Defense of Democracies

David is an Expert on Countering Money Laundering and Terrorism Finance.