OPINION:
With less than two weeks until the most important election in our lifetime, the American people want to hear more from former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris about policy solutions to rebuild our economy and keep us safe.
Mr. Trump declared in the critical swing state of Pennsylvania that companies that “don’t make their product in America will be forced to pay a rather stiff tariff.” He laid out his vision to combat countries that don’t play by the rules.
As we stand up to foreign countries that cheat, we must root out corruption overseas if we want to attract more foreign direct investment and create tens of thousands of American jobs.
As a special adviser and chief of staff to the executive director of the World Food Program, I witnessed corruption’s devastating impact on foreign countries firsthand.
For years, Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index has listed Bulgaria as the most corrupt country in Europe, and it was always on my radar when I served in Congress. In recent years, Bulgaria agreed to purchase $1.3 billion of U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets to support thousands of good-paying American manufacturing jobs in my former congressional district and my home state.
Dealing with corruption and promoting the rule of law is also critically important when it comes to feeding millions of people. The European Anti-Fraud Office investigated a food aid scam involving the disappearance of nearly $30 million from a European food aid program to feed those in need in Romania. According to investigative journalists, the scam leads back to the majority shareholders of First Investment Bank in Bulgaria.
As a former congressman who served on the House Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees, I know that the rule of law and a strong financial system go hand in hand. The Financial Action Task Force, which works to combat terrorist financing and money laundering, added Bulgaria to its “grey list” in late 2023, which means that nation’s banking sector faces serious scrutiny and makes it harder to do business.
One leading example of this deep-rooted corruption in Bulgaria is Investbank, which has faced international scrutiny. While there is a dispute regarding ownership of the bank as the result of a Middle East investor filing a legal complaint that its investment in the bank was stolen, questions remain about Bulgaria’s financial system. According to the Organized Crime and Corruption Project, Investbank is accused of laundering hundreds of millions of dirty dollars on behalf of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Former U.S. Ambassador to Bulgaria John Beyrle described Investbank in a classified diplomatic report as a “bad apple bank,” noting that its business “practices are repeatedly cited as questionable or shady, funneling money for known criminals in money laundering schemes.”
The reality is that foreign financial institutions that engage in such behavior need to be held accountable by the U.S. government and the international community.
As the recently departed U.S. ambassador to Bulgaria said, we bring “up the rule of law in almost every single meeting that we have with Bulgarian officials, and we are constantly looking for allies at all levels of the government.”
In 2023, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control was forced to sanction five current and former Bulgarian government officials for corruption in the energy and financial sectors. As the U.S. government stated at the time, “corruption robs the Bulgarian people of hundreds of millions of dollars and hinders investment and economic growth.”
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said that “Bulgaria has the potential to become a European energy hub.” The simple reality is that if we want to counter Russian aggression and strengthen our NATO alliances, we must ensure that October’s parliamentary elections in Bulgaria are a game-changer in the fight against corruption.
Our political leaders must take strong, decisive action to clean up the corruption in Eastern European countries and promote the rule of law. With parliamentary elections scheduled in Bulgaria for Oct. 27, now is the time for the U.S. government to push for real reform if we truly want to make our country great again.
• Gresham Barrett served as special adviser and chief of staff to the executive director of the World Food Program. He represented South Carolina’s 3rd Congressional District for four terms.
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