We don't need a war
to stop a war.
Anti-corruption research as leverage for Ukraine's defense. We find the supply-chain chokepoints Russia cannot replace — and we pull the lever.
Kyiv · Captured Russian armor on display
Mission
Most Americans want Ukraine free.
So do we.
The Dekleptocracy Project began the day Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We started this knowing — not believing, but knowing — that the West had more leverage than it was using. Not military leverage. Investigative leverage. This project is about teaching the West how to marshal it.
Russia cannot produce the basic technology its own war machine depends on. It has to buy it from the West. The people and companies selling that technology to Moscow are profiting from the invasion — and that flow of goods is what we exist to interrupt.
Washington's posture toward Moscow may shift with every administration. Our posture does not. The Dekleptocracy Project exists because a free Ukraine is the firewall protecting every other free society from a kleptocratic order spreading east to west.
“Violating sanctions is, in practice, money laundering. Money laundering is something we are very good at finding.”
The cost of inaction is paid in homes.
Proven Impact
The methodology works.
The world has noticed.
Over the past year we have applied anti-corruption tools and legal levers to cause real disruptions in Russia's supply chain — without requiring government intervention. Our successes have been covered internationally and acted upon by enforcement bodies across allied nations.
Research
Vulnerabilities in the Russian Chemical Industry
By Andrew Fink for The Dekleptocracy Project · February 2026
Russia exports oil. Russia cannot, on its own, refine it. A handful of catalysts, additives, and feedstocks that turn crude into gasoline, jet fuel, lubricants, and tire rubber are produced at industrial scale by only a small number of firms worldwide. Several are not in Russia.
Our most recent study traces those dependencies node by node — naming the producers, intermediaries, and trading firms. The same methodology applies anywhere a hostile state relies on materials it cannot make.
Refining catalysts
The substances that crack crude into usable fuels.
Lubricant additives
Without them, engines and tanks seize.
Tire & rubber inputs
Military logistics run on chemistry Russia imports.
Trade intermediaries
Third-country firms re-routing restricted goods.
Now that the model is proven —
we scale it.
Over the past year we have proven that the methodology works — supply-chain disruption without requiring government intervention. Our October campaign takes this to a new level: a coordinated, large-scale operation producing hundreds of legal filings across dozens of jurisdictions, all on the same day.
A major documentary is embedded in this campaign. The filings, the evidence, and the coordination are being built now.
Methodology
Bringing accountability to Putin's enablers.
Violating sanctions is, in practice, money laundering — and we are experts in catching money launderers.
Map the dependency
Identify a material, component, or capability the target regime cannot produce at scale. Trace the global supply — producers, intermediaries, end users.
Find the chokepoints
Concentrate on nodes where production is held by a handful of firms or routed through a small number of trading houses. These are pressure points.
Follow the money
Sanctions evasion looks exactly like money laundering. Apply standard AML techniques to surface beneficial owners, shell companies, and shadow fleets.
Publish, equip, defend
Deliver the evidence to enforcement bodies, journalists, allied governments, and the public. Each disclosure narrows the regime's options.
The point of all of this
Russia runs on Western technology.
Russia cannot produce the basic technology its own war machine depends on. It has to buy it from the West. The people and companies selling that technology to Moscow are profiting from the invasion — and that flow of goods is what we exist to interrupt. The same approach works against any regime whose economy depends on goods it cannot produce. The leverage gained is an alternative to military escalation.
- Identify chokepoints before they become flashpoints.
- Equip allies with named targets, not vague calls for sanctions.
- Turn private research into public accountability.
- Build a playbook that outlives any single administration.
Support the Work
Help Ukraine win.
Fund the research.
Putin may be able to buy the American government. He cannot buy the American people. Your donation sends that message.
Why your donation matters
- One data subscription alone costs $10,000.
- We need hundreds of analyst hours at $20/hour.
- Wherever possible, we hire Ukrainians to do the analysis.
- Every dollar goes directly to ACA's 501(c)(3) program — no overhead, 100% to the work.
Tax-deductible · The Dekleptocracy Project is a program of Anti-Corruption Action, a Virginia 501(c)(3)
