Nate Sibley

Six Steps to Sanction Russia’s War Economy For months President Donald Trump has been attempting to stop the fighting in Ukraine, and he may meet with Vladimir Putin in the coming days to discuss the war’s end. While the White House prepares f...

New from me: Russia’s war economy is finally running out of road.

Here are six steps Trump should take to hasten that process—and generate the leverage he needs to force Putin to back down.

www.hudson.org/sanctions/si...

Ukrainian corruption debacle illustrates strength of its democracy In Russia, people fear the government, and the result is tyranny. In Ukraine, the government still fears the people, and their fight for liberty goes on.

Zelensky’s attempted power-grab doesn’t mean that Ukraine is irredeemably corrupt.

On the contrary, it showed how robust Ukraine’s democracy has become, and how hard Ukrainians will fight to preserve it.

My latest in @washingtonexaminer.bsky.social. www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/belt...

Financial Crimes in the Art World Time for a closer look

Time for a closer look at financial crimes in the art world.

irenekenyon.substack.com/p/art-financ...

Thanks—I look forward to reading yours!

📰Fresh off the press, an Op Ed by @natesibley.bsky.social examines why cartels and terrorists love the American art market.
thehill.com/opinion/fina...

A new op-ed from the Hudson Institute 's @natesibley.bsky.social outlines how illicit actors use the American fine arts market to launder their proceeds. For more on the connection between the art market and money laundering, check out the work of FACT member @combatlooting.bsky.social

Cartels and terrorists love American art — and the money it hides Art has often been treated as nothing more than an asset by the wealthy, but it need not be one that criminals can use to spread death and misery.

Money launderers have always exploited US art markets—and its probably getting worse.

So why are art markets still excluded from basic US anti-money laundering regulations?

New from me in @thehill.com… thehill.com/opinion/fina...

Funding Freedom in China: Time for Private Donors to Step Up Many Chinese civil society organizations became reliant on now-frozen U.S. government aid after funding from private U.S. organizations dried up.

“Because of the private philanthropic sector’s neglect, the US government’s funding suspension is causing a crisis among groups working to nurture political reform, with some civil society groups in China at risk of extinction.”

The only beneficiary is the CCP.
thediplomat.com/2025/02/fund...

Those who chose dishonor between war and dishonor, will have both.

This is a slightly reworded remark by a man, who wore pajamas during a meeting with a soon-to-be American President, Dwight Eisenhower.
During the war that they won together as allies later on.

Opinion | Putin Wins the Trump-Zelensky Oval Office Spectacle Vice President Vance starts a public fight that only helps Russia’s dictator.

“It is bewildering to see Mr. Trump’s allies defending this debacle as some show of American strength…

Mr. Trump does not want to be the President who abandoned Ukraine to Vladimir Putin with all the bloodshed and damage to U.S. interests that would result.”

Casey reminds us that America can back Ukraine with conventional support to force an acceptable outcome—or back off, and expect Ukraine to pursue nuclear weapons.

Trump’s tantrum I think moved us closer to the latter today.

On @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social just now, former US ambassador to Denmark Carla Sands said Americans "don't want to pay for another of Zelensky's yachts".

The claim that Zelensky is using US aid to buy yachts is an old piece of disinformation directly originating from Russia. It's not true.

Trump's USAID Funding Freeze Threatens Global Independent Media, OCCRP Editor Warns As the U.S. withdraws support for independent journalism worldwide, Russia and China could try to fill the vacuum.

“Who is going to fill the gap in Asia? It’s going to be China. Beijing is now going around these newsrooms and offering money. We are not even aware how big a shift we are witnessing. It’s quite scary.”
www.occrp.org/en/feature/w...

An Ugly Oval Office Spat | National Review The dispute with Zelensky is a disturbing reflection of the resentment Trump feels toward a partner whose fundamental offense is wanting to defend itself.

“It’s hard to remember a more painful public spectacle in the Oval Office than the one that unspooled Friday afternoon…

This was shocking behavior, especially when it is unimaginable that they’d ever dare treat Vladimir Putin in a similar fashion.”
www.nationalreview.com/2025/02/an-u...

China to gain from USAID freeze, experts warn A collection of experts from right-of-center and centrist organizations told the Washington Examiner that Trump's freeze on foreign aid may benefit China.

I spoke to Washington Examiner about how DOGE’s chaotic aid freeze creates a huge opportunity for China to step in—and strengthen its grip over governments that are often already heavily indebted to Beijing.

Not good for US economic and security interests. www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/3...

“Trump said gold-card holders would not be subject to taxes on their overseas income. The provision means that gold-card residents will be able to purchase a tax benefit not available to U.S. citizens.“

MORE: Russia continues to showcase its deepening relations with American adversaries despite Putin's effort to posture Russia's receptiveness to negotiations with the United States. (1/3)
isw.pub/UkrWar022825

China to gain from USAID freeze, experts warn A collection of experts from right-of-center and centrist organizations told the Washington Examiner that Trump's freeze on foreign aid may benefit China.

I spoke to Washington Examiner about how DOGE’s chaotic aid freeze creates a huge opportunity for China to step in—and strengthen its grip over governments that are often already heavily indebted to Beijing.

Not good for US economic and security interests. www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/world/3...

Britain Should Join America and Sanction Putin’s Puppet in Georgia The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) have long been seen as tax havens. But in recent years, their related role as global money laundering hubs has come under scrutiny. Like the Conservative govern...

Bidzina Ivanishvili has used Britain's "offshore empire" to move his money around the world.

My new Hudson Institute blog calls on the UK to follow the US and swiftly impose sanctions on Putin's puppet in Georgia.
www.hudson.org/sanctions/br...

Supreme Court Allows Corporate Transparency Act Enforcement (1) The US Supreme Court on Thursday said it will allow the government to implement the Corporate Transparency Act, requiring millions of businesses to file information on their beneficial owners.

I’m quoted in Bloomberg: When lobbyists’ legal attacks on the US beneficial ownership register are over, “law enforcement will be better equipped to stop criminals who use anonymous US shell companies to launder fentanyl profits.”
news.bloombergtax.com/daily-tax-re...

Opinion | A Key Tool to Fight Terrorists and Criminals The law must tackle the pervasive use of shell companies in money laundering and sanctions evasion.

"There are thousands of other ways to cut red tape without undermining national security."

The Hudson Institute's @natesibley.bsky.social rebuts common arguments against the landmark Corporate Transparency Act, which is "a key tool against cartels and terrorists."
www.wsj.com/opinion/a-ke...

It’s utterly insane that the world has just accepted that the Chinese Communist Party covered up the origins of Covid—especially when common sense and much evidence points to a lab leak.

People in democracies would rather squabble with each other about our responses than demand CCP accountability.

Venezuelan Regime Hunts for Foreign Hostages to Pressure Its Rivals Maduro has turned up the heat on the incoming Trump administration by recently seizing 50 foreigners, several of them American passport holders.

The Maduro regime is arresting foreigners to use as bargaining chips in negotiations.

This is the problem with the Biden admin pursuing prisoner swaps with dictatorships: It just encourages them to keep taking prisoners because they know they’ll get concessions.
www.wsj.com/world/americ...

America Needs a Maximum Pressure Strategy in Ukraine Trump must gain more leverage to bring Putin to the negotiating table.

Unfortunately for Trump, and contrary to what his isolationist friends believe, the USA is not the only country with agency.

Russia doesn’t want to stop fighting.

A maximum pressure campaign is needed to generate the leverage he needs to compel the Kremlin.
www.foreignaffairs.com/ukraine/amer...

The Elusive Crime Boss Linked to Billion-Dollar ‘Pig Butchering’ Scams The Chinese mobster known as Broken Tooth has played a central role in the emergence of a virulent new form of cyber fraud.

Broken Tooth, the infamous organized crime boss, appears to be behind the surge in “pig butchering” scams costing vulnerable Americans billions of dollars.

His whereabouts are highly visible on social media, yet China isn’t even trying to apprehend him.

Quelle surprise!
www.wsj.com/world/china/...

While the accolades rightly roll in for the incredible humanitarian work and the ethical force that was Jimmy Carter, few have noted his role in the world’s most important piece of anti-corruption legislation: The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). 🧵

www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/fo...

Leaked documents show Cuban military sitting on billions of dollars amid humanitarian crisis Internal documents show how much the Cuban military has diverted resources to build hotels.

Leaked documents show that Cuba’s military is secretly sitting on billions of dollars—many times over the amount the regime claims it needs to alleviate the humanitarian crisis.

So much for US sanctions being the root of all the world’s problems…
www.miamiherald.com/news/nation-...

For vast majority of business owners, it’ll take ~15min (if you’re like me & had to scan in ID doc; faster otherwise). But if your LLC is more complicated perhaps because you’re evading taxes or child support; hiding bribes; or laundering for narcos, it’ll be more complicated.

Sorry, not sorry.

If the Trump admin is serious about enforcing against cartel money laundering, terrorist financing, and its planned tariffs, it will need to implement the Beneficial Ownership Information Register.

It’s a basic principle that we should know who owns LLCs being used to move money across our borders!