Taskforce on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance

TARIF aims to strengthen global democracy by identifying viable ways in which the UK and US can combine efforts in tackling illicit finance.




Rawf8 / Alamy Stock Photo


In both London and Washington, the focus on tackling illicit finance is intensifying. The Biden administration has identified the response to illicit finance, corruption and kleptocratic behaviour as a priority. And in the UK, the government’s Integrated Review promised to reinvigorate efforts to tackle illicit finance, noting that this was an area in which the UK could bolster its relationship with the US. But how these commitments will translate into action remains unclear.

In June 2021 RUSI’s Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies established a ‘Track 2’, non-government Taskforce on a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance (TARIF), to run for 12 months. It will provide much-needed and urgent input into the policy debate at this crucial time.

Rawf8 / Alamy Stock Photo

Aims and objectives

A group of experts and practitioners from both sides of the Atlantic will examine the illicit finance threats affecting the UK and US and the broader international community, and will consider the tools and responses that a transatlantic partnership could facilitate. They will analyse a range of topics, including: the financial architecture of the UK and US and its impact on the international community; responses to the financial dimension of hostile state activity; improving collaboration with affected international partners; future illicit finance threats; and the role of FinTech and decentralised finance.

TARIF will synthesise findings into policy briefs and recommendations. RUSI will also produce a range of public events and multimedia activities to highlight key issues that complement the Taskforce’s goals. Ultimately, TARIF aims to identify new pathways for transatlantic collaboration in tackling global illicit finance, and therefore to strengthen democratic governance.

Resources on transatlantic illicit finance

Access recent developments and scholarship related to transatlantic illicit finance

Project outputs


Access key publications produced as part of this project.

The Illicit Finance Threat to Democracies: A Transatlantic Response
Episode 11: Active Financial Measures
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Active Financial Measures: The Unseen Threat to Democracy
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How the US and UK Can Respond to International Illicit Finance
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Episode 26: A Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance: Starting at Home
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Building the Basis of a Transatlantic Response to Illicit Finance
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Getting Serious? Illicit Finance Is Finally a UK Foreign Policy Issue
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Get Serious: Illicit Finance is a Threat to the US–UK Special Relationship
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Meeting One: Fixing the Home Base


TARIF Members' reactions From their first meeting: 'Fixing the Home Base'

Meeting Two: The Role of the US and the UK in International Illicit Finance


The Role of the US and the UK in International Illicit Finance - Reaction from members

Meeting Three: Countering Active Financial Measures


Countering Active Financial Measures - Reaction from members

Taskforce members*


Melissa Aten, Senior Program Officer, National Endowment for Democracy

Elise Bean

Former Staff Director & Chief Counsel US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations

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Dr Katie Benson

Associate Fellow | SHOC Network Member - Researcher

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Oliver Bullough

Author and journalist

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Creon Butler

Director, Global Economy and Finance Programme, Chatham House

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Isabella Chase

Associate Fellow; Former CFCS Senior Research Fellow, RUSI

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Alison Clew

Independent Director, Sigma Ratings; former global head of AML Compliance, Citigroup

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Liz David-Barrett, Director, Centre for the Study of Corruption, University of Sussex

Elaine Dezenski, Chief Growth Officer, Blank Slate Technologies and Senior Advisor, Center on Economic and Financial Power, Foundation for Defense of Democracies

Gretta Fenner

Managing Director, Basel Institute on Governance

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Suzannah Fitzgerald

ACC Coordinator, Transparency International

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Julia Friedlander

C. Boyden Gray Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Atlantic Council

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Lord Garnier QC

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Duncan Hames

Transparency International UK, Director of Policy

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Gary Kalman

Director of Transparency International's U.S. Office

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Tom Keatinge

Director, CFCS

Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies

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Nick Lewis OBE

Senior Associate Fellow; MD Financial Crime Compliance, Standard Chartered Bank

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Edward Lucas, journalist and writer

Nick J. Maxwell

Associate Fellow; Director, NJM Research Ltd

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Casey Michel

Adjunct Fellow, Hudson Institute Kleptocracy Initiative

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Dr Maria Nizzero

Research Fellow

Centre for Financial Crime and Security Studies

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Chip Poncy

Global Co-Head, K2 Integrity Financial Crimes Risk Management

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Alanna Putze

Senior Corporate Partnership Manager

Business Development

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Ari Redbord

Head of Legal and Government Affairs, TRM Labs

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Matthew Redhead

Senior Associate Fellow; Financial crime consultant and researcher

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Gemma Rogers

Associate Fellow; Co-Founder, FINTRAIL Ltd

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Denisse Rudich

Associate Fellow; Founder and Executive Director, Rudich Advisory

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Josh Rudolph

Fellow for Malign Finance, Alliance for Securing Democracy, German Marshall Fund

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Moyara Ruehsen

Professor and Director, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, Financial Crime Management Program

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Sarah Runge, Global Head of Regulatory Strategy, Credit Suisse

Nate Sibley, Hudson Institute, Research Fellow

Adam M. Smith, Partner, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, LLP

Patricia Sullivan

Deutsche Bank, Head of Financial Crime Business Controls and Oversight

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Trevor Sutton, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress

Sam Tate, Partner, RPC LLP

Ben Trim, HSBC, Head of Group Financial Crime Public Policy

Dr Jodi Vittori

Associate Fellow; Research and Policy Manager, Defence and Security Programme, Transparency International

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Sir Rob Wainwright KCMG

Distinguished Fellow

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Josh White, Stripe, Global Sanctions Lead

Juan Zarate

Chairman, Centre on Economic and Financial Power, FDD; and Global Co-Managing Partner, K2 Integrity

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* This is not an all-inclusive list of taskforce members


  • RUSI Taskforce Urges US and UK Leadership to Strengthen Defences Against ‘Activ...

    clock2 Minute Read
  • Active Financial Measures: The Unseen Threat to Democracy

    clock6 Minute Read
  • How the US and UK Can Respond to International Illicit Finance

    clock5 Minute Read

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