WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and lead author of the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, issued the following statement after the Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the Department of State, revoked the license that was issued to Specially Designated National Dan Gertler on January 15, 2021.

“Dan Gertler never should have been granted an eleventh-hour permit by the Trump administration to do business with U.S. banks and other companies. As the lead author and ardent defender of the Global Magnitsky Act, I am pleased to see the Biden administration revoke the license granted to the billionaire and his companies. If this egregious permit had been allowed to continue, it would have risked enabling corruption and setting back the integrity and legitimacy of the Global Magnitsky program.

“If well-connected international billionaires like Gertler think there is a chance they can get away with their corrupt actions, then they will not be deterred. The Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act has become one of the most effective tools available to the U.S. government against foreign officials who have been credibly accused of corrupt practices or human rights abuses. Mr. Gertler’s case reinforces the need for the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Reauthorization Act (S. 93), which I recently introduced with my Republican colleague Senator Wicker to send a clear signal of our national commitment to defending democratic values and the international rules and standards.”

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