Dismantling Defences: Counter Illicit Finance in Trump’s Second Administration
Tracking how the Trump administration is dismantling US and global anti-illicit finance systems.
Over the last six months, we’ve seen a flurry of legislative, regulatory, and institutional changes from the Trump administration. Some of these have encouraged the use of cryptocurrency; others have pulled back from long-standing anti-corruption efforts. And several have directly undermined the core capabilities of the US government to investigate and combat illicit finance.
Today, I’m launching a new initiative: Dismantling Defences: The Trump Illicit Finance Tracker.
This ongoing project will document and analyze the Trump administration’s efforts to weaken the US and international counter-illicit finance systems. This does not include Trump’s personal wealth projects (aka corruption) (Trump Coin, World Liberty, etc.), though those are also worth monitoring.
Instead, this is about institutions, enforcement, and influence.
Why This Matters
The US has long been the global driver of anti-money laundering (AML), counter-terrorism financing (CTF), counter-sanctions evasion/proliferation financing, and anti-kleptocracy efforts (broadly: counter-illicit finance). US law enforcement, financial regulators, and international partnerships have largely defined the rules—and enforced them. The counter-illicit finance fight is critical because all international security threats have a financial component. If we make it harder for bad people to do bad things with money, it makes it harder for them to achieve their objectives. When the rules are relaxed, bad actors take advantage of that and operate with impunity.
With the US taking a reduced role in countering illicit finance, countries will need to build new blocs and enforcement coalitions. They’ll have to develop capabilities that the US used to provide, including research, analysis, coalition building, diplomacy, coordinated sanctions, and more.
This tracker helps us understand what’s being dismantled—and what’s at risk.1
Below, you’ll find a list of recent (2025) policy actions that the Trump administration has taken that have a direct bearing on counter-illicit finance efforts in the US, and globally.