Josh Rudolph

Senior Fellow for Malign Finance, Alliance for Securing Democracy
Washington, DC Office
Democracy
Staff,
GMF Expert
My Areas of Expertise:
Anti-Corruption Authoritarian Interference Trade, Economics, and Business Ukraine Reconstruction
Russia Ukraine

Josh Rudolph is the senior fellow and head of the malign finance and corruption team at the Alliance for Securing Democracy (ASD) at GMF. As an expert in the financial channels through which autocrats undermine and interfere in democratic institutions, he tracks and analyzes flashpoints of autocratic corruption threatening democratic processes. He also leads GMF’s research on Ukraine’s anti-corruption efforts.

Rudolph has researched and authored leading work on authoritarian malign finance, strategic corruption, and kleptocracy, as well as on public policies to deter, detect, defund, and defend against these threats. He regularly gives private briefings and public testimonies to governmental bodies, including the US Congress and the European Parliament. He frequently appears in the media and has published work in the Financial Times, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Fletcher Security Review, The American Interest, Dallas Morning News, Just Security, and The Hill.

Before joining GMF, Rudolph served in a range of US government positions dealing with finance and national security. As an adviser to the US executive director at the International Monetary Fund, he formulated and represented official US positions toward matters before the organization’s executive board. As a member of the White House National Security Council, he chaired interagency diplomatic and technical work on Russia sanctions and coordinated other economic initiatives. He also served as deputy director of the markets room at the US Treasury Department.

In 2022, Rudolph took extended leave from ASD to serve as the senior fellow on USAID’s Anti-Corruption Task Force, where he was the lead author of the Dekleptification Guide. He also revamped USAID’s strategy for corruption sanctions and tracked oligarch yachts after Russia invaded Ukraine.

Before his public service, Rudolph worked for seven years at J.P. Morgan as an investment banker and financial markets research strategist. He holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from Babson College and a master’s degree in public policy with a concentration in international trade and finance from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.

Media Mentions

by
Josh Rudolph
“ Josh Rudolph of the German Marshall Fund, another Washington think-tank, points out that not only have American inspectors-general closely monitored the aid provided, but also Ukraine has recently taken anti-corruption steps required for the country to join the European Union, such as requiring banks to scrutinise the finances of public officials for life. ”
The Economist
by
Josh Rudolph
“ What needs to be done now is to set up the enabling environment that would bring large amounts of money [to Ukraine]. And that’s going to take a lot of time and political capital. ”
Monocle
by
Josh Rudolph
“ Ukrainian oligarchs are biding their time until after the war to reassert their influence. Continuing to uproot oligarchy – a critical part of winning the war, rebuilding the country and preparing for EU accession – will require heavy domestic and foreign support. ”
The Guardian
by
Josh Rudolph
“ As Ukraine’s counteroffensive against Russian forces gets underway, the country’s allies must now help plot a separate counteroffensive — one that will be needed to beat another longtime nemesis of the Ukrainian people: oligarchs and grand corruption. ”
Politico EU
by
Josh Rudolph
“ I would recommend that the current Congress try to push through $100 billion in security assistance to Ukraine during the lame duck session, and also to appoint an inspector general to oversee the distribution. ”
Newsweek
by
Josh Rudolph
“ When a country decides to have elections and when it thinks about joining NATO, then the Kremlin engages all resources, considers which actors it has in a certain country. ”
VOA Serbian
by
Josh Rudolph
“ Moscow still today has a lot of ways to distribute money secretly through shell companies, think tanks or cryptocurrencies. There are plenty of possibilities. ”
Translated from French
L'Opinion
by
Josh Rudolph
“ You certainly see them [China] in Taiwan and Hong Kong but then also in the developed democracies of Australia and New Zealand. Increasingly, they've kind of dabbled with going further afield, whether it's the Czech Republic or Chad or Kenya, or in some limited cases, funding ads or media operations that influence the United States. ”
VOA
by
Josh Rudolph
“ If the target is voters, then what you mainly have to do is reach those voters and let them know what’s happening to them. ”
AP
by
Josh Rudolph
“ The Pandora Papers have ushered in a historic moment for a sweeping policy response. ”
ICIJ
by
Josh Rudolph
“ [The Pandora Papers] gives U.S. officials immense power to clamp down if they want to. Although this leak is global, the beating heart of the offshore financial system is the United States. ”
Foreign Policy

Featured Work