16/09/2022: Transparency International On Wednesday, news broke that the Russian government may have spent as much as US$300 million since 2014 on influencing elections and buying political influence abroad. Reportedly, some of the countries affected include Albania, Montenegro, Madagascar, possibly Ecuador and an unnamed country in Asia.

Image: Christopher Penler / ShutterstockThat same day, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen highlighted “covert foreign influence and shady funding” by authoritarian regimes as a threat to democracy, specifically calling out China.

Most countries recognise the threat of foreign political finance. In fact, 70 per cent of countries around the world ban foreign-sponsored campaign donations. To wiggle around this ban and to disguise the origin of money, China and Russia have abused the global financial system’s loopholes – including anonymous shell companies. According to a 2020 study by the German Marshall Fund of the United States, both countries have increasingly relied on such means to sway elections and interfere in other democratic processes.
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