H.R. 4322

Combating Global Corruption Act of 2021

This bill requires the Department of State to address corruption, including related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline (a national gas pipeline expected to increase Russia's natural gas export capacity).

The State Department must annually publish a ranking of foreign countries based on their government's efforts to eliminate corruption.

The bill outlines the minimum standards that the State Department must consider when creating the ranking. These considerations include, for example, whether a country has criminalized corruption, adopted measures to prevent corruption, and complied with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption and other relevant international agreements. Tier one countries meet the standards; tier two countries make some efforts to meet the standards; tier three countries make de minimis or no efforts to meet the standards.

If a country is ranked in the second or third tier, the State Department must designate an anti-corruption contact at the U.S. diplomatic post in that country to promote good governance and combat corruption.

The bill also requires the State Department, in coordination with the Department of the Treasury, to evaluate whether to impose asset- and visa-blocking sanctions against foreign persons engaged in significant corruption (1) in tier three countries, or (2) related to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. The State Department must report to Congress about any sanctions imposed under this bill. The evaluation and reporting requirements concerning the Nord Stream 2 pipeline terminate after five years.