THE FRONT LINES

The economic war abroad

Mideast: Biden admin hits both sides with sanctions in Israel-Palestine while Trump admin teases return of “maximum pressure” on Iran after EU, UK sanctions: The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the State Department added several Israeli companies involved in settlement construction to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list on Monday, followed by designations Tuesday on six Hamas officials outside Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, the EU and UK announced a substantial expansion of sanctions on Iran for its support to Russia in the Ukraine war on Monday, and President-elect Donald Trump plans to resume his previous administration’s policy of “maximum pressure” sanctions on Iran, according to reporting by Newsweek today. 

Russian sanctions-busting linked to British overseas territories: Firms in crown territories overseas have exported over $134 million worth of goods to Russia in 2024 in violation of sanctions, a FT investigation published yesterday found. The trade highlights the lack of transparency – and enforcement – in many of these jurisdictions. 

THE HOME FRONT

The local impact of strategic corruption – and the strategic impact of local corruption 

Fundraising by the Eritrean government in the US invites scrutiny: Despite extensive US sanctions, Eritrea’s party in power has been fundraising through the Eritrean diaspora in the US, according to reporting today by the Washington Post. Eritrea is a de facto one-party authoritarian state under the rule of the People’s Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), and was sanctioned by the US for its support to the Ethiopian government during that country’s brutal 2021 civil war. 

Corruption scandals roil local government from coast to coast: Orange County, California’s Democratic leadership are considering an outside corruption investigation into the county’s affairs after former Republican Supervisor Andrew Do pled guilty to illegally steering millions of dollars to a nonprofit with which he was connected, according to local investigative reporting. Meanwhile, a Harris County, Texas health official fired last year has been charged with a felony for alleged bid rigging by the county’s Democratic DA, while Clark, New Jersey’s recently re-elected Republican mayor appeared in front of a judge today, almost exactly a year after being charged in a corruption scandal. Finally, reporting yesterday on a Federal bribery case involving the mayoral administration of Jackson, Mississippi – in the context of attempts by the mostly white, Republican state government to extend its power over the mostly Black, Democratic city – shows how corruption in local administrations can exacerbate the existing vulnerabilities of communities they serve.