On June 13, 2021, at the conclusion of its meeting the G7 announced in its Communiqué joint action against several criminal and international enforcement matters.
Corruption, Illicit Financial Activities, and Misuse of Shell Companies
The Communique recognizes “the need action on corruption, including by sharing information on illicit financial activities, tacking the misuse of shell companies, and curtailing the ability of illicit actors to hide wealth.”
As part of its G7 Fact Sheet the Biden Administration underscored how on June 3, 2021 President Biden declared efforts to combat corruption a “core U.S. National interest,” and issued a National Security Student Memorandum on the Fight Against Corruption to elevate this effort.
The G7 Fact Sheet states the U.S. will tackle “the misuse of shell companies, limiting the ability of bad actors to launder dirty money in real estate purchases, improving corruption-related information sharing, and reforming foreign assistance to focus on anticorruption as a cross-cutting priority.” [1] The Fact Sheet says the U.S. welcomes the G7 commitment to take collection action in combatting corruption.
Ransomware
The Communique states the G7 reiterates its interest in stable and predictable relations with Russia. In that regard, it states that it will “identify, disrupt, and hold to account those within its borders who conduct ransomware attacks, abuse virtual currency to launder ransoms, and other cybercrimes.”[2] The Biden Administration’s G7 Fact Sheet states the transnational criminal enterprises committing ransomware leverage infrastructure, virtual currency, and money laundering networks. They target victims worldwide, often operating “from geographic locations that offer a permissive environment for carrying out such malicious cyber activities.”
The G7 Fact Sheet states the international community –both governments and private sector actors – must cooperate to ensure that “malicious cyber activity is investigated and prosecuted, that we bolster our collective cyber defenses, and that States address the criminal activity taking place within their borders.”
Removing Forced Labor from Global Supply Chains
The Communique expresses concern about the use of all forms of forced labor in global supply chains, including state-sponsored forced labor of vulnerable groups and minorities and supply chains of the agricultural, solar, and garment sectors – the main supply chains of concern in Xinjiang, China.
G7 leaders agreed to uphold human rights and international labor standards, and protecting individuals from forced labor. Hence, they commit to ensuring all global supply chains are free from the use of forced labor. They propose to identify areas for increased cooperation and collective efforts to eradicate the use of all forms of forced labor in global supply chains, in accordance with international and national law.[3]
International Human Rights Concerns
The Communique mentions concerns about international human rights violations in Russia, Belarus, Myanmar, and Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
Analysis
The commitments in the G7 Communique to stronger international enforcement initiative are importance for setting and reinforcing international enforcement cooperation. The nature of the G7 meetings and communiques limit the commitments to broad policy statements. The follow up comes from action by international organizations, such as the EU, the OECD, the World Bank Group, and national governments. The limits of the Communiques are inability to implement the broad policy decisions, including when governments and policies change from time to time.
[1] G7 Communique, paragr. 48.
[2] G7 Communique, paragr. 51.
[3] G7 Communique, paragr. 29.
Leave a Reply