Partnering With Despots and Failed Regimes: Rogue Banking As a Primary Violation of International Law

Today, criminals can transfer enormous sums from a bank in nation A to an account in nation B with a mouse click. Allowing rogue banking to constitute an international law violation will enable direct actions against financial institutions for international law violations and raise the profile of those institutions that engage in the practice. This Article does not propose that isolated incidents of providing financial services should be considered a violation of international law, but rather that rogue banking should be defined in the context of serial partnering with international law violators. Part II outlines the pervasive role global financial institutions play in enabling rogue actors.

Part III discusses the host of international problems emanating from some of these states such as threats to global peace and stability as well as starvation, oppression, execution, and imprisonment. Part IV analyzes whether the sources of international law demonstrate that providing financial services to bad actors should constitute a primary international law violation.