New report flags loophole allowing billions in foreign cash to flow into US politics

First on Fox: A damning new report was released Tuesday morning ahead of a House Ways and Means Committee hearing aimed at exposing foreign actors sending money to American nonprofits.

The hearing, titled “Foreign Influence in U.S. Nonprofits: Uncovering Threats from Beijing and Beyond,” will begin at approximately 10:00 a.m. EST.

Six foreign entities have funneled more than $2.65 billion into U.S. politics, according to a new report from conservative watchdog Americans for Public Trust (APT), which highlights a loophole that APT says allows foreign nationals to funnel money to influence U.S. politics “almost unchecked.”

Foreign citizens are prohibited from donating directly to political campaigns, but money supporting American candidates for office or their views can also come from 501(c)(3) and (c)(4) nonprofits.

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Six foreign groups linked to wealthy individuals abroad have transferred more than $2.6 billion to U.S.-based nonprofits, according to a new report from the conservative watchdog group Americans for Public Trust (APT). (Photo by Wayne McNamee/Getty Images)

“Foreign donors “APT can currently fund advocacy groups in the United States—mostly 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4)—almost unchecked,” the report claims. He adds that while the funds uncovered by APT are “deeply troubling” on their own, there are “undoubtedly more outside funding sources supporting and influencing US advocacy efforts.”

The six entities highlighted in the APT report are: from Switzerland, Denmark and the United Kingdom. The largest donor identified in the report was the Swiss-based Oak Foundation, set up by British retail tycoon Alan Parker, which gave about $753 million to advocacy groups in the United States.

Through the Oak Foundation, Parker has supported left-wing environmental groups such as Greenpeace, the Environmental Law Institute, the World Resources Institute, and the World Wildlife Fund, according to the Capital Research Center’s Influence Watch, which cited the group’s grant database that now appears to have been removed.

Influence Watch added that through its grants, the Oak Foundation has positioned itself as a major supporter of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which China’s critics This debate is part of a geopolitical strategy disguised as infrastructure investment.

The APT report also notes that the Swiss-based Oak Foundation has pumped tens of millions of dollars into Arabella’s network of left-wing advocacy groups, including $67 million to the New Venture Fund, $12 million to the Windward Fund and $2.8 million to the Hopewell Fund. The left-wing Tides Foundation also received money from the Oak Foundation.

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The left-wing Arabella Network has received funding from the Copenhagen-based KR Foundation and the Swiss-based Laudes Foundation as well, according to APT, which found that these two groups have passed a combined $55.6 million to American advocacy groups. The KR Foundation was founded by descendants of Villum Kahn Rasmussen, a Danish civil engineer and businessman who founded the VKR Group, while the Laudes Foundation was founded by the Brenninkmeijer family, a German-Dutch business dynasty.

Entities founded by a Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Vis It came in second place on the APT list, which includes six foreign donor organizations. The Wyss Foundation and Berger Action Fund have reportedly funneled more than $673 million to advocacy groups in the United States.

Hansjorg Wyss attends Oceana’s 2015 New York City benefit at Four Seasons Restaurant on April 1, 2015 in New York City. (Photo by Craig Barrett/Getty Images for Oceana)

“Wyss-funded groups use their vast resources to advance a progressive agenda, shape political debates and decisions, and influence American elections. Its foreign funding network focuses on policy priorities such as radical environmentalism, supporting sweeping changes to election laws, and directly engaging in campaign activities, including voter mobilization efforts and political attack ads. Wys’s foreign money has found its way into prominent left-wing organizations including the Fund for a Better Future, the League of Conservation Voters, the National Redistricting Action Fund, Planned Parenthood, and Indivisible.

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The two remaining foreign entities mentioned in the APT report, the UK-based Children’s Investment Fund Foundation (CIFF) and the Quad Climate Foundation, are alleged to have passed hundreds of millions of dollars to US-based groups, respectively, similar to the Parker and Weiss groups.

The China International Furniture Fair has passed about $638.2 million to U.S. advocacy groups, while the Quadrature Climate Foundation has passed about $532.5 million, according to APT.

The China International Furniture Festival, backed by British billionaire Christopher Hoehn, has engaged in an “aggressive left-wing campaign” on climate and climate change. social justice, Among them is a group that wants to ban gas stoves, according to what APT reported. The funding also included more than $10 million to two nonprofits run by Arabella, according to the report.

APT also accuses China International Furniture Fair of fostering “troubling ties with groups in China linked to the Chinese Communist Party,” noting that its CEO is part of a member organization overseen by the Chinese Communist Party and holds a position in the “Belt and Road International Alliance for Green Development.”

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Meanwhile, the Quadrator Climate Foundation, which also donates to the Arabella Network, is described as sending its grants to “some of the world’s most influential campaign groups and scientific institutions” in an attempt to channel “both research and lobbying for the green transition.” It is the philanthropic arm of London-based hedge fund Quadrature Capital, which was founded by billionaires Greg Skinner and Sunil Setia.

The largest recipient of the Quadrature Climate Foundation, according to APT, was ClimateWorks, from which it received $147 million. $25 million of this money went to “support the acceleration of electric vehicles,” while another $6 million was allocated to financial regulation efforts aimed at mitigating the risks of climate change.

“For years, foreign organizations and major donors have quietly pumped billions of dollars into the American political sphere with little accountability,” APT complained in its report. “Foreign financing has permeated virtually every sector of the American political sphere.”