FACT Coalition Welcomes White House Plans for “Summit for Democracy”



WASHINGTON, DC – The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition welcomed the White House announcement today of a “Summit for Democracy” from December 9-10 bringing together global leaders from governments, civil society, and the private sector. The summit will address three themes: addressing and fighting corruption; defending against authoritarianism; and advancing respect for human rights.

“With the enactment of the Corporate Transparency Act earlier this year, the elevation of the fight against corruption to a national security priority, and the launch of a congressional caucus against foreign corruption and kleptocracy, the U.S. has a real opportunity to demonstrate leadership through concrete action in the fight against global corruption,” said Ian Gary, executive director of the FACT Coalition. “There are concrete commitments the U.S. can make at or before the summit to show the world we recognize the need to put our own house in order. For example, the U.S. is a major destination for money laundering through real estate and the Biden Administration could address this problem through administrative action.”

Today’s announcement committed the U.S. to organizing a second summit a year later to “take stock of progress made and forge a common path ahead.”

“A key deliverable for the U.S. should be ensuring that recently enacted landmark anti-corruption legislation, such as the Corporate Transparency Act, is faithfully implemented,” Gary said. “We expect draft rules from the Treasury Department to be published soon. These rules must embody the commitment to global cooperation against corruption and kleptocracy at the heart of the summit announced today.”

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Notes to Editor:

• Click here for an online version of this release.
• More information on the Summit for Democracy can be found here.
• More information on the Corporate Transparency Act, addressing the problems associated with anonymous shell companies and requiring the disclosure of the true, beneficial owners of corporate entities, can be found here.
• A new report from FACT Coalition member Global Financial Integrity, “Acres of Money Laundering: Why U.S. Real Estate is a Kleptocrat’s Dream”, describes the extent of money laundering through the U.S. real estate sector and steps the U.S. should take to address this problem.