Over the past decade, countries have increasingly used settlements that is, any procedure short of a full trial to conclude foreign bribery cases and have imposed billions in monetary sanctions. There exists a gap in knowledge, however, regarding settlement practices around the world and the disposition of these monetary sanctions notably through the lens of recovery of stolen assets. Left out of the Bargain, a study by the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative (StAR), provides an overview of settlement practices by civil and common law countries that have been active in the fight against foreign bribery. Using the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) as its point of reference, the study addresses concerns voiced by the international community: What happens to the money associated with the settlements, and is it being returned to those most directly harmed by the corrupt practices? And what can be done to assist those countries harmed by foreign bribery? Left out of the Bargain has found that 395 settlement cases took place between 1999 and mid-2012, resulting in a total of US$6.9 billion in monetary sanctions imposed against companies and individuals. Of this amount, nearly US$6 billion came from settlements that took place in a country different from that of the allegedly bribed foreign public officials. But only about US$197 million, or 3 percent, has been returned or ordered returned to the countries whose officials were accused of accepting bribes. Left out of the Bargain urges countries whose officials were allegedly bribed to intensify their efforts to investigate and prosecute the providers and recipients of foreign bribes, hence improving these countries' prospects for recovery of assets lost through corruption. The study also calls for more proactive international cooperation and coordination to ensure that all affected countries are afforded the opportunity to seek redress for harms suffered and for the recovery of assets thus fulfilling the principles set out in UNCAC.

It is a conservative estimate that every year, through corruption, between 20 billion dollars and 40 billion dollars are diverted from developing countries and find safe haven in foreign jurisdictions. In several countries that are party to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) anti-bribery convention, a very high proportion of cases of foreign bribery and related offenses have been resolved short of a full trial. Anticorruption practitioners and policy makers in countries where officials were allegedly bribed have (along with other interested stakeholders) therefore raised concerns about whether settlements might impede their own criminal or enforcement investigations and affect the liability of multinational companies in third countries. This study seeks to fill knowledge gap by: (i) informing policy makers and practitioners about the frameworks for settlements in various legal systems, (ii) examining settlements in practice and their implications for international cooperation, and (iii) analyzing how settlements relate to asset recovery in foreign bribery cases. An additional goal is to inform the general public (including civil society organizations) about these frameworks. This study describes and analyzes, both qualitatively and quantitatively, settlements in cases of foreign bribery and related offenses, and their implications for international cooperation and asset recovery. This report is structured as follows: chapter one adopts a broad definition of settlements as various procedures short of trials and analyzes the legal frameworks in a number of civil and common law countries. Chapter two traces the general trends and developments in settlements and considers the rationale for settlements. Chapter three analyzes the impact of settlements in one jurisdiction on pending and future investigations in other countries. Chapter four explores the link between asset recovery and settlements through the lens of United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC). Chapter five offers conclusions. Chapter six presents detailed summaries of 14 significant cases.

When it comes to food, Americans seem to have a pretty great deal. Our grocery stores are overflowing with countless varieties of convenient products. But like most bargains that are too good to be true, the modern food system relies on an illusion. It depends on endless abundance, but the planet has its limits. So too does a healthcare system that must absorb rising rates of diabetes and obesity. So too do the workers who must labor harder and faster for less pay. Through beautifully-told stories from around the world, Kevin Walker reveals the unintended consequences of our myopic focus on quantity over quality. A trip to a Costa Rica plantation shows how the Cavendish banana became the most common fruit in the world and also one of the most vulnerable to disease. Walker’s early career in agribusiness taught him how pressure to sell more and more fertilizer obscured what that growth did to waterways. His family farm illustrates how an unquestioning belief in “free markets” undercut opportunity in his hometown. By the end of the journey, we not only understand how the drive to produce ever more food became hardwired into the American psyche, but why shifting our mindset is essential. It starts, Walker argues, with remembering that what we eat affects the wider world. If each of us decides that bigger isn’t always better, we can renegotiate the grand food bargain, one individual decision at a time.

Almost half of everything sold in America is listed at some kind of promotional price. People don't only want a deep discount, they expect it - and won't settle for anything less. In this playful, deeply researched book, journalist Mark Ellwood takes a trip into this new landscape. From the floor of upscale department store Sergdorf Goodman to the bustling aisles of a Turkish bazaar, from the outlet Disneyworld of rural Pennsylvania to a town in Florida that can claim to be couponing's spiritual capital, Ellwood shows how some people are, quite literally, born to be bargain junkies thanks to a quirk of their DNA. He also uncovers the dark side of discounting: the sales-driven sleights of hand that sellers employ to hoodwink unsuspecting buyers. Bargain Feveris a manual for thriving in this new era, when deal hunting has gone from being a sign of indigence to one of intelligence. There's never been a better time to be a buyer - at least if you know how the game works. 'This book is a bargain hunter's bible.' Michael Tonello, author of Bringing Home the Birkin'Bargain Fever is just as fierce, funny, tenacious, and tantalizing as its author. I love this book.' Kelly Cutrone, founder, People's Revolution, and author of Normal Gets You Nowhere'A book after my own heart. Bargain Fever lifts the veils off the sales, ensuring even more that you'll never pay retail again.' Carmen Wong Ulrich, financial contributor, CBS This Morning, and author of Generation Debt'Highly informative and entertaining.' Booklist

The United Nations Convention against Corruption includes 71 articles, and takes a notably comprehensive approach to the problem of corruption, as it addresses prevention, criminalization, international cooperation, and asset recovery. Since it came into force more than a decade ago, the Convention has attracted nearly universal participation by states. As a global and comprehensive convention, which establishes new rules in several areas of anti-corruption law and helps shape domestic laws and policies around the world, this treaty calls for scholarly study. This volume helps to fill a gap in existing academic literature by providing an invaluable reference work on the Convention. It provides systematic coverage of the treaty, with each chapter discussing the relevant travaux préparatoires, the text of the final article, comparisons with other anti-corruption treaties, and available information about domestic implementing legislation and enforcement. This commentary is designed to serve as a reference work for academics, lawyers, and policy-makers working in the anti-corruption field, and in the fields of transnational criminal law and domestic criminal law. Contributors include anti-corruption experts, scholars, and legal practitioners from around the globe.

2013 Christy Award finalist! Plea bargains may grease the rails of justice, but for Jamie Brock, prosecuting criminals is not about cutting deals. In her three years as assistant DA, she’s never plea-bargained a case and vows she never will. But when a powerful defense attorney is indicted for murder and devises a way to bring the entire justice system to a screeching halt, Jamie finds herself at a crossroads. One by one, prisoners begin rejecting deals. Prosecutors are overwhelmed, and felons start walking free on technicalities. To break the logjam and convict her nemesis, Jamie must violate every principle that has guided her young career. But she has little choice. To convict the devil, sometimes you have to cut a deal with one of his demons.

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