In July 2021, RUSI established the Taskforce on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance (TARIF). TARIF set out to explore the rising acknowledgement in US and UK governments that illicit finance, generated by corruption and kleptocracy, is not only having a negative impact on their own societies, security and financial integrity, but also on that of the wider democratic world. The Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent economic response emphasised the need to restrict the financial influence of corrupt actors and ensure that the US and the UK are hostile environments for illicit finance.
TARIF explored the domestic vulnerabilities of both countries to illicit finance, their responses to the international element of illicit finance and how ‘active financial measures’ undermine democratic societies. TARIF developed a set of principles and actions that US and UK governments must implement to better detect and disrupt illicit finance linked to corruption and kleptocracy.
