U.S. Anti-Corruption Efforts
Around the world, corruption saps economic growth, hinders development, destabilizes governments, undermines democracy, and provides openings for dangerous groups like criminals, traffickers, and terrorists.
The U.S. Department of State has made anti-corruption a national security priority and works across the globe to prevent graft, promote accountability, and empower reformers.
The Department’s global anti-corruption efforts have three elements:
- Preventing Corruption & Increasing Accountability: We assist countries committed to tackling corruption by both strengthening democratic institutions and building new support for reform by empowering citizen advocates to hold governments accountable to global standards.
- Strengthening Law Enforcement Across Borders: We work with global partners to enhance law enforcement cooperation across borders, improve data sharing between major financial hubs, and develop tools to recover stolen assets.
- Tackling the Corruption-Security Nexus: We address corruption in the security arena, exposing how corruption threatens national security and the ability to protect citizens, defeat terrorists, and defend national sovereignty.
By prioritizing anti-corruption, the Department of State seeks to make it even harder for criminals and terrorists to take root and spread, to promote governments that are more stable and accountable, and to level the playing field for U.S. businesses to compete in every region