Congressional Hearing: The Sentry’s Testimony on Countering Russia’s Terroristic Mercenaries

On March 8, 2023, The Sentry’s Director of Illicit Finance Policy Justyna Gudzowska testified before a hearing with the US Helsinki Commission. The hearing, “Countering Russia’s Terroristic Mercenaries,” evaluated the most effective tools to counter the Wagner Group and its affiliates – including potential foreign terrorist organization (FTO) designation through the bipartisan Holding Accountable Russian Mercenaries (HARM) Act (H.R. 506/S. 416).

More information on the hearing and its recording are available both below and on the Commission’s website.

The hearing’s testimonies were given by:

1. Justyna Gudzowska, Director of Illicit Finance Policy, The Sentry; former lead sanctions lawyer at Morgan Stanley, former attorney-advisor for the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and former expert on ISIS and Al-Qaida for the UN Security Council.

2. Jason Blazakis, Director, Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS) Center on Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism (CTEC); Senior Fellow, Soufan Center and Senior Advisor, Soufan Group; former Director of the Counterterrorism Finance and Designations Office, Bureau of Counterterrorism, U.S. Department of State.

3. Jason Wright, Partner, Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle LLP and chair of its Economic Sanctions and Trade Control Committee and National Security Law Practice Committee; former Army judge advocate (JAG) with tours in Germany, Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay; current Army Reserve JAG assigned as Assistant Professor of Law at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point; former adjunct Professor of Law at Georgetown University Law Center and the Washington and Lee University School of Law.