Op-Ed / / 03.03.22

Medium Op-ed: China, Russia, and a Proxy War for Strategic Minerals

Note: This op-ed originally appeared on Medium and was written by Brad Brooks-Rubin, a Senior Advisor at The Sentry. China, Russia, and a Proxy War for Strategic Minerals Responsible Reporting Requirements Can Provide Rules of Engagement While outright war involving a major power has broken out in Ukraine — there’s a parallel global battle underway. China, […]

Op-Ed / / 02.28.22

Foreign Policy Op-ed: Targeted Sanctions Can Help Restore Democracy in Sudan

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Foreign Policy and was written by John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry, and U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Targeted Sanctions Can Help Restore Democracy in Sudan Focusing on key military leaders and their networks can force the regime to change course. The […]

Op-Ed / / 02.22.22

Foreign Affairs Op-ed: Can Sanctions Be Smart?

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Foreign Affairs and was written by Justyna Gudzowska, Director of Illicit Finance Policy at The Sentry, John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry, and Daniel W. Drezner of Foreign Affairs.     Can Sanctions Be Smart? The Costs and Benefits of Economic Coercion THE RIGHT TOOL FOR THE JOB Daniel Drezner’s […]

Op-Ed / / 01.03.22

The Hill Op-ed: Don’t You Be My Neighbor

This op-ed originally appeared on The Hill and was written by Michelle Kendler-Kretsch, Investigator at  The Sentry. When my parents moved to Miami and were looking for an apartment, I jokingly offered my investigative services to make sure their rental unit wasn’t owned by a drug trafficker or a corrupt foreign leader. Miami real estate is well known for being […]

Op-Ed / / 12.08.21

Project Syndicate Op-ed: Accountability and Aid in Ethiopia

This op-ed originally appeared on Project Syndicate and was written by John Prendergast, Co-Founder of  The Sentry. With no sign that Ethiopia’s civil war will end anytime soon, the US and its partners must take action where they can to save lives. In particular, financial sanctions should be broadened to prevent further human-rights abuses, and creative humanitarian intervention is […]

Op-Ed / / 05.25.21

Op-ed: Conflict Minerals: Are Companies Sourcing From Conflict-Free Refiners & Smelters?

Note: This op-ed originally appeared on The Sentry’s Medium and was written by Sasha Lezhnev, Deputy Director of Policy at The Sentry. Conflict Minerals: Are Companies Sourcing From Conflict-Free Refiners & Smelters? Independent audits on conflict minerals have been around for a decade, but are companies actually using them in their supply chain decisions? According to new research by The […]

Op-Ed / / 04.26.21

Op-ed: Why Are Corrupt Businesspeople Going Dutch?

Note: This op-ed originally appeared on The Sentry’s Medium and was written by Michelle Kendler-Kretsch, Investigator at The Sentry.   Corruption in Central Africa Risks Contaminating the Dutch Financial Sector Trillions of dollars in foreign money flows through the Netherlands each year. With a business-friendly tax and regulatory system, the country is a destination of choice for corporations looking to protect […]

Op-Ed / / 04.15.21

Just Security Op-ed: Fighting the ‘International Thief Thief’ with Global Magnitsky Sanctions

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Just Security and was written by Brad Brooks-Rubin, General Counsel at The Sentry. This article is the second of a Just Security mini-series adapted from recent testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission regarding the reauthorization of the Global Magnitsky Act on March 24, 2021. All articles in the […]

Op-Ed / / 04.12.21

The New Humanitarian Op-ed: What the curious case of COVID prevention cards says about South Sudan’s health crisis

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in The New Humanitarian and Al Jazeera, and was written by Brian Adeba, Deputy Director of Policy at The Sentry.   At the height of the pandemic last April, I saw Facebook posts from friends and relatives in South Sudan showing top-level government officials wearing clip-on tags dubbed “virus removal cards”. The […]

Op-Ed / / 03.23.21

Medium Op-ed: The Corruption Conundrum: The Absence of Corruption from the UK and EU Global Human Rights Sanctions Regimes

Note: This op-ed originally appeared on Medium and was written by Oliver Windridge, Senior Advisor for The Sentry to the UK.   The United States and Canada have thematic sanctions programs—often referred to as Magnitsky regimes—that target human rights abusers and those involved in corruption. These programs allow for asset freezes and travel bans on designated persons and entities, and they are […]

Op-Ed / / 03.09.21

Medium Op-ed: Five Reasons Why Biden’s Move Against Corrupt Billionaire Dan Gertler Matters

Note: This op-ed originally appeared on Medium and was written by John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry, and Sasha Lezhnev, Deputy Director of Policy at The Sentry. In an important move for combating global corruption, the United States today revoked the last–minute license given by the Trump administration to corrupt tycoon Dan Gertler. Following years of investigations by Bloomberg, Global Witness, PPLAAF, The Sentry, and other groups, […]

Op-Ed / / 02.13.21

Just Security Op-ed: Changing the Calculus to Support Peace in South Sudan

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Just Security and was written by Brian Adeba, Deputy Director of Policy at The Sentry. For more than two years, South Sudan’s leaders have engaged in stalling tactics that have stymied the implementation of the peace deal signed in September 2018. President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Riek Machar, by signing […]

Op-Ed / / 01.05.21

Morning Consult Op-ed: Congress Just Took Rare Bipartisan Action to Protect Human Rights by Banning Anonymous Shell Companies

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in the Morning Consult and was written by John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry. The headlines around the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act for 2021 have focused on components beyond the core subject of military spending, including special legal protections for tech companies like Facebook and the removal of Confederate leaders’ […]

Op-Ed / / 11.03.20

Mediapart Op-ed: La France entretient un statu quo criminel en République centrafricaine

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Mediapart and was written by Nathalia Dukhan, Senior Investigator at The Sentry. La montée du sentiment anti-français en Centrafrique est avant tout le fruit d’une politique française qui conserve une forte emprunte coloniale. La République centrafricaine (RCA) prévoit d’organiser des élections présidentielles et législatives en décembre 2020. Pour se faire réélire, […]

Op-Ed / / 10.19.20

Project Syndicate Op-ed: Justice in a Hijacked State

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Project Syndicate and was written by John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry, and Nathalia Dukhan, Senior Investigator at The Sentry. It’s also available to read in French or Portuguese on the Project Syndicate website. The international community has long favored trying to cajole the Central African Republic’s warring parties into doing […]

Op-Ed / / 09.19.20

The East African Op-ed: As Guns Fall Silent in Juba, Leaders Must Pull the Trigger on Dirty Cash

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in The East African and was written by Brian Adeba, Deputy Director of Policy, and Hilary Mossberg, Director of  Illicit Finance Policy. The peace process in South Sudan has kept most of the guns silent between the two main protagonists over the past year, but core governance reforms that could help the […]

Op-Ed / / 09.01.20

Just Security Op-ed: Shoring up Sanctions Enforcement in Sub-Saharan Africa: A North Korea Case Study

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Just Security and was written by Megha Swamy, Deputy Director of  Illicit Finance Policy at The Sentry. Two North Koreans abroad walk into a bank, open an account with access to U.S. dollars and euros, and go about conducting business with high-level politicians in their host country. Despite hundreds of sanctions […]

Op-Ed / / 08.05.20

The Hill Op-ed: Two Rare Moments With John Lewis

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in The Hill and was written by John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry. From the time he was a young man in the 1960s, John Lewis consistently put his life on the line in pursuit of racial justice. During his extraordinary career in public service, he lent his name and commitment to numerous causes, […]

Op-Ed / / 05.15.20

Project Syndicate Op-ed: Killer Corruption

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in Project Syndicate and was written by John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry. WASHINGTON, DC – COVID-19 is a ticking time bomb in Africa. Some of the risks are widely documented. Health-care systems are weak and overburdened, with ten African countries reportedly having no ventilators at all. Food supplies are unstable, and have already suffered major […]

Op-Ed / / 04.29.20

Haaretz Op-ed: Un magnat israélien s’appuie-t-il sur des manœuvres de couloir du camp Trump pour saboter la politiquer étrangère américaine ?

Note: This op-ed originally appeared in English in Haaretz, and was written by Sasha Lezhnev,  Deputy Director of Policy at The Sentry, and John Prendergast, Co-Founder of The Sentry. Lorsque les États-Unis imposent des sanctions à un homme d’affaires sans scrupules ou à une entreprise corrompue, on s’attend à des conséquences financières considérables. Cependant, certaines personnes […]