WASHINGTON DC: The United States has designated two senior public office holders from Palau and the Marshall Islands for “significant corruption”, making them and their immediate family members ineligible for entry into the US.

According to a State Department press release issued on Tuesday (local time), Palau’s Senate President Hokkons Baules was designated “for his involvement in significant corruption on behalf of China-based actors”, while Anderson Jibas, former mayor of the Kili/Bikini/Ejit community in the Marshall Islands, was designated “for his involvement in significant corruption and misappropriation of US provided funds during his time in public office”.

The State Department stated that Baules abused his public position by accepting bribes in exchange for providing advocacy and support for government, business and criminal interests linked to China. “His actions constituted significant corruption and adversely affected US interests in Palau.”

In Jibas’ case, the department said he abused his position “by orchestrating and financially benefiting from multiple misappropriation schemes involving theft, misuse, and abuse of funds from the US-provided Bikini Resettlement Trust”.

It added that the actions resulted in most of the funds being stolen from the Kili/Bikini/Ejit people, who are survivors and descendants of survivors of nuclear bomb testing in the 1940s and 1950s.

“The theft, misuse, and abuse of the US-provided money for the fund wasted US taxpayer money and contributed to a loss of jobs, food insecurity, migration to the United States, and lack of reliable electricity for the Kili/Bikini/Ejit people.

“The lack of accountability for Jibas’ acts of corruption has eroded public trust in the government of the Marshall Islands, creating an opportunity for malign foreign influence from China and others.”

US law permits the government to publicly name foreign nationals and their close family members when credible information links them to serious corruption or human rights violations.

The designations come amid intensified strategic competition between the United States and China for influence in the Pacific region. Both Palau and the Marshall Islands maintain Compacts of Free Association with the US, granting Washington exclusive military access in exchange for economic assistance.

“The United States will continue to promote accountability for those who abuse public power for personal gain and steal from our citizens to enrich themselves. These designations reaffirm the United States’ commitment to countering global corruption affecting US interests,” the State Department said.

US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Tommy Pigott echoed the position in a post on X.

“The Trump Administration will not allow foreign public officials to steal from U.S. taxpayers or threaten U.S. interests,” he wrote.

Highlighting the action, Pigott added, “Today  StateDept is publicly naming and banning from U.S. entry two corrupt government officials from the Pacific. (ANI)