Three anti-corruption organizations encouraged the internal watchdogs of the US Treasury and State Departments to examine the US government’s improper move to essentially ease sanctions on billionaire businessman Dan Gertler right before the change of US administrations.
Mr. Gertler was sanctioned by the Trump administration in 2017 under the Global Magnitsky Act for his alleged participation in large-scale corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In January 2021, the administration secretly granted a license allowing Mr. Gertler to restart transactions that had been prohibited by the restrictions. Once the decision was made public, it drew bipartisan condemnation: the incoming Biden administration revoked the license, calling it “inconsistent with America’s strong foreign policy interests in combating corruption around the world,” and former senior Trump administration officials called it “truly appalling” and “an abuse of the process.”
Following a year of civil society attempts to get greater openness into this decision, Human Rights First, The Sentry, and Transparency International wrote to the Treasury and State Department inspectors general, requesting that they review the grounds for the license.
“The new administration quickly and rightfully withdrew Mr. Gertler’s license, but a lot of damage had already been done. To prevent a similar situation from occurring in the future, it is essential that the U.S. government provide greater transparency into what was behind this inexplicable policy shift,” said Justyna Gudzowska, Director of Illicit Finance Policy at The Sentry.
These three organizations had previously joined Congolese anti-corruption campaigners and other parties in protesting Mr. Gertler’s unusual permission.
“Just as sanctioning a corrupt actor can help isolate and pressure them, lifting sanctions – if it’s done right – can help reward and reinforce positive changes in their behavior,” said Gary Kalman, Director of Transparency International U.S. “But we need to understand what happened with the Gertler license to restore public confidence in how the executive branch makes these decisions.”
The Global Magnitsky Act, which imposes asset freezes and visa restrictions on those found to be involved in corruption or major human rights violations, has proven to be an effective instrument for bringing corrupt actors accountable. The Global Magnitsky Act was reauthorized by Congress earlier this month, making the legal requirement for the sanctions scheme permanent.
More than a year later, the US government has provided practically little formal information regarding its brief but disturbing decision to quietly lift Mr. Gertler’s restrictions. The public needs to understand how and why the previous administration took this step, which risked undermining fragile progress against corruption in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and suggested a playbook that future individuals sanctioned for corruption or human rights violations may follow to avoid the consequences of their actions.