Description: Memo published by the US Attorney General Pam Bondi stated that the KleptoCapture taskforce detailed to pursue sanctions against Russian oligarchs would be soon disbanded. The announcement also stated that members of the taskforce would be deployed to their original posts and the funding for the taskforce would be repurposed for battling cartels and drug trafficking. Amendments have been made in the FCPA (Foreign Corruption Policy Act) as it is also recentered towards legal persecution of cartel activities. The announcement has been connected to recent statements from President Donald Trump which mostly entailed the recovery of bilateral relations with Russia and ending the war with Ukraine.
Impact: Economic and business sanctions although questionably effective, has been the US and Europe’s biggest weapon in depleting the Russian war economy. The disbandment of the oligarch taskforce could be interpreted as an act of recuperation in bilateral relations between the US and Russia but could also indicate on potential shift in foreign policy practices by the Trump administration. Europe’s and Ukraine’s defenses rest in large part on US support and with the dissolution of taskforces such as this, Russia could potentially exploit to enhance illicit oil trade and recover large parts of its frozen assets over the years since the war started, which could ultimately give them a severe upper hand in the war.