Casten, Riggleman Introduce Bill to Uncover Authoritarian Regimes Misuse of the U.S. Financial System
Washington, D.C – Today, U.S. Representative Sean Casten (IL-06) and U.S Representative Denver Riggleman (VA-05) introduced H.R. 8796 to study the efforts of foreign authoritarian regimes to exploit the United States financial system. This common-sense, bipartisan bill leverages Federal expertise at the Department of Treasury, U.S. Attorney General, and other national security, intelligence, and law enforcement agencies to uncover how authoritarian regimes in foreign countries and their proxies of such regimes use the financial system of the United States.
Casten said, "We must act aggressively to curb the exploitation of our financial systems by corrupt, foreign regimes. From political interference to proliferators of weapons of mass destruction, foreign actors are actively furthering their own interests at the expense of ours including violating human rights, environmental degradation, corruption, tax evasion, political instability, insurgency, and terrorism. I am proud to introduce this bill with my friend and colleague Rep. Riggleman, and I hope we can get it passed quickly for the sake of our national security."
Riggleman said, "The safeguarding of American financial systems is an urgent and essential task. Foreign actors, including from North Korea and China, have been exploiting the United States financial system and furthering their corrupt interests. This bill will help America address foreign interference and make the American financial system more safe. I am proud to co-sponsor this bill with Sean Casten and I will continue to fight for Americans against these foreign threats"
Recently, the Department of Justice (DOJ) found that North Korean and Chinese citizens were operating a multibillion-dollar money laundering scheme to help fund the North's nuclear weapons program. Given the breadth and scope of illicit financial flows, tracking can be too complex for any single financial institution, NGO, or law enforcement agency to manage individually. This bill brings together expert agencies to work together to evaluate these actions and put forward policy recommendations to curb these practices and safeguard our financial system.