A 14-page latest report by Global Witness with a copy in possession of this paper has revealed that almost a dozen least developed countries, including Liberia, has dished out US$21 million in international lobbying fees to US-based firms since November 2024.
The report, updated July 10, 2025, named eleven (11) countries including Liberia, Angola, Cambodia, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Haiti, Honduras, India, Iraq (Kurdistan), Moldova, Mozambique, Pakistan, the Philippines, Rwanda, Somalia, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen.
According to the GW Report, these countries who signed lobbying contracts with different US-based international firms from November 2024 until end-2025 are the largest recipients of U.S aid, and said contracts were signed mostly with firms linked to U.S. President Donald J. Trump.
“Some of the world’s lowest-income and most aid-dependent nations are paying millions to lobbyists with ties to US President Donald Trump as the country halts foreign assistance. Many of these countries are home to one or more armed conflicts and are offering access to valuable natural resources, including minerals or other strategic assets, in exchange for humanitarian or military support,” the report stated.
According to documents filed with the US Department of Justice and records submitted under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) which is also in possession of this paper, US-based firms with ties to President Trump and his allies negotiated international lobbying contracts with these countries worth more than US$17 million in fees, to be paid in 2025, in the first six months of Trump’s administration.
The report intimated that $17 million paid by these nations would be equivalent to the US paying out nearly half a billion dollars. The US$21 million worth of contract entered into by these least developed countries intended to woo the Trump administration to remain financially supportive through foreign direct investments, trade, security, and aid.
The Global Witness said this is happening at a time when access to natural resources has become a Trump fixation including minerals like rare earths that are considered critical to U.S security, whose supply chains are controlled by China.
“Monthly fees for lobbying contracts can run up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. To represent Angola, Squire Patton Boggs, a firm with established links to Trump, collects $312,500 per month. Some firms have commissioned third parties with access to Trump to carry out their contracts. Seiden Law, which won a deal in April worth $200,000 a month to “promote the exploration and sale of” rare earth and other critical minerals on behalf of Pakistan, outsourced the contract to a firm owned by Trump’s former bodyguard, Keith Schiller,” the report asserted.
Though not specifically mentioned in the Global Witness latest report, Verity News has independently investigated and sourced over a million U.S dollars consultancy contract through a third-party lobbying deal between the Government of Liberia and Blackwood International Strategic Advisors, LLC on December 12, 2024.
Amid accusations by the Global Witness of these contracts being linked to Trump-linked firms, the global watchdog on natural resource governance has hinted potential conflict of interest, bribery, and weak FARA enforcement which ultimately undermine accountability and transparency in the management of natural resources.
With least developed countries, including Liberia, lining up to attract U.S trade, investment and aid in possible exchange of their natural resources, the Global Witness has made a list of policy recommendations to the U.S. Government in order to promote fairness, transparency, and accountability.
The recommendations include to: Restore the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Strengthen FARA Enforcement, enforce Conflict of Interest Regulations, institute Fair Trade Policies, Immediate Restoration of Aid, Recommit to International Partnerships, Promote Ethical Resource Agreements, Support for Capacity Building, establish Global Resource Governance Framework, Diversify Funding Sources, and Strengthen International Anti-Bribery Agreements.
