HRF’s Casey Michel Sanctioned by Russian Regime

NEW YORK (Aug. 29, 2024) — On Wednesday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sanctioned the Human Rights Foundation’s (HRF) Casey Michel, as well as other American academics, journalists, and industry leaders. Michel leads HRF’s Combating Kleptocracy program, which sheds light on how dictatorships use financial secrecy and influence campaigns to entrench their regimes, smother democratic opposition, and enrich themselves that much further.

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be sanctioned by the Kremlin, and a testament to all of the hard work we do at the Human Rights Foundation to expose the corruption and crimes of authoritarian regimes around the world,” Michel said. “I’m especially impressed that Russian officials read through my new book so quickly, and realized that it revealed so many of their networks of influence and infiltration abroad — including in the United States — and that they decided to sanction me in response.”

A day before Michel was placed on President Vladimir Putin’s “blacklist,” he released his new book, “Foreign Agents: How American Lobbyists and Lawmakers Threaten Democracy Around the World.” Michel provides a stunning investigation into the threat posed by US lobbyists working on behalf of foreign dictatorships and how they’ve strengthened kleptocratic regimes around the world, from Russia to Saudi Arabia to Nigeria. This book was deemed “masterful” by Publishers Weekly, a “timely exposé” by Kirkus, and one of the “most anticipated books of 2024” by Foreign Policy.

Michel’s op-eds and other writings have appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, The Atlantic, and more. He has also appeared on NPR and MSNBC to discuss his work combating kleptocracy, including that of the Russian regime.

HRF condemns the Kremlin’s recent blacklisting of Michel, and supports his unwavering commitment to upholding democracy and combating corruption, kleptocracy, and other dictatorial tactics.