Published: July 2026
Authors: Martin Vladimirov, Dr Tihomira Kostova, Marius Koppen, and Dr Vanya Petrova
Strategic corruption has become one of the defining challenges to democratic governance and international security. Increasingly, authoritarian states rely on opaque financial networks, offshore jurisdictions, illicit financial flows, and captured institutions to project influence beyond their borders, circumvent sanctions, and undermine democratic resilience. As geopolitical competition intensifies, tackling these systemic vulnerabilities requires moving beyond isolated enforcement actions toward greater financial transparency, stronger international coordination, and more resilient governance frameworks.
Building on CSD’s Shadow Economies research, this report examines how Russia has transformed offshore finance into an instrument of geopolitical influence. It traces the evolution of Russian corporate ownership networks following the invasion of Ukraine, analyses how offshore structures, crypto assets, and alternative payment systems facilitate illicit financial flows and sanctions evasion, and argues that effective responses must target the financial architecture enabling strategic corruption rather than individual actors alone.
