The International Lawyers Project (ILP), in partnership with Anton Moiseienko from the Australian National University, conducted an empirical study of the impact of the U.S. anti-corruption sanctions. This sanctions impact research is the first-of-its-kind in providing findings and recommendations that will add to the policymakers’ understanding of what Magnitsky-style corruption sanctions can and do achieve based on empirical evidence.
In particular, the research project reviewed the earliest corruption-related designees under the Global Magnitsky Program:
Name | Home Jurisdiction (where the targeted individual’s activities have primarily taken place, as identified based on the case study analysis) | Date of Sanctions |
Felix Ramon Bautista Rosario | Dominican Republic | 21 December 2017 |
Benjamin Bol Mel | South Sudan | 21 December 2017 |
Artem Chayka | Russia | 21 December 2017 |
Dan Gertler | Israel & The Democratic Republic of Congo | 21 December 2017 |
Yahya Jammeh | The Gambia | 21 December 2017 |
Gulnara Karimova | Uzbekistan | 21 December 2017 |
Roberto Jose Rivas Reyes | Nicaragua | 21 December 2017 |
Angel Rondon Rijo | Dominican Republic | 21 December 2017 |
Slobodan Tesic | Serbia | 21 December 2017 |
Jose Francisco Lopez Centeno | Nicaragua | 5 July 2018 |
Roberto Sandoval Castaneda | Mexico | 17 May 2019 |
Ahmed Al-Jubouri | Iraq | 18 July 2019 |
Nawfal Hamnadi Al-Sultan | Iraq | 18 July 2019 |
Ajay, Atul, and Rajesh Gupta | India & South Africa | 10 October 2019 |
Salim Essa | South Africa | 10 October 2019 |
Ashraf Seed Ahmed Al-Cardinal | South Sudan | 11 October 2019 |
Kur Ajing Atern | South Sudan | 11 October 2019 |
Kharmis Farnan Al-Khanjar Al-Issawi (aka Al-Khanjar) | Iraq | 6 December 2019 |
The report highlights the following key recommendations:
Governments should not assess the effectiveness of sanctions purely in terms of measurable outcomes, such as the amount of assets frozen. However, they should conduct regular reviews of the impact of their sanctions, even though such a review will of necessity involve imprecise, subjective assessments.
Governments should seek to identify and publicise corporate networks associated with targeted individuals.
In determining appropriate targets for Global Magnitsky sanctions, governments should prioritise individuals who rely on the international financial system and therefore are more likely to be affected by the designation.
In imposing Global Magnitsky sanctions on those whose wrongdoing has been addressed by domestic justice systems, governments should develop a clear understanding of the added value that the designation would have in the circumstances.
The report will be launched in London on Thursday 29th June 2023 from 10am BST. The launch event will include a roundtable with sanctions experts speaking on The Opportunity Magnitsky Style Sanctions Present in the Global Fight Against Corruption. To join virtually, please register here.
More than five years following its enactment, the United States Government has designated around 450 foreign persons and entities from around the world for human rights and corruption abuses under its Global Magnitsky Program. Through Executive Order 13818, the Global Magnitsky Act has expanded the scope of sanctionable targets to include wider networks of individuals and entities to implement the most comprehensive targeted human rights and anti-corruption sanctions law in its history.
The use of targeted sanctions against corrupt public officials, entrepreneurs, and professional enablers is a relatively novel and promising approach to fighting corruption, but only a few regimes – i.e., the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, have established their own Magnitsky-style corruption-related sanctions.
Geographically, sanctions designations span several jurisdictions on a global scale, where targeted individuals included government and military officials, as well as private citizens.
Infographic as of December 2021: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R46981/1
To download a copy of the report please see below: