StAR Initiative – serie

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 practises 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 practises by civil and common law countries that have been active in the fight against foreign bribery.

Corruption has a devastating impact on developing and transitional countries. An estimated $20 billion to $40 billion per year are stolen by public officials from developing and transition country jurisdictions, a figure equivalent to 20 to 40 percent of flows of official development assistance. Returning these proceeds of corruption – asset recovery – can have a significant development impact. Returns can be used directly for development purposes – improvements in the health and education sectors, re-integration of displaced persons – with additional benefits of improved international cooperation and enhanced capacity of law enforcement and financial management officials. Development agencies and those committed to development effectiveness have a role in the asset recovery process. They have made international commitments to fight corruption and recover the proceeds of corruption in the Third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness: Accra Agenda for Actions, held in Accra (2008); and Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness: Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation in Busan (2011). Despite these efforts, there has been difficulty in translating these commitments into concrete action. This StAR-OECD publication reports on how OECD countries are performing on asset recovery and is intended to support the anti-corruption and asset recovery efforts of developed and developing jurisdictions. Drawing on data collected between 2006 and 2012, the report provides recommendations and highlights good practices and specific actions that development agencies can take. Its findings and recommendations would also be of interest to civil society organizations engaged in governance and development issues.

Financial disclosure systems are a vital component of transparency. By now 161 countries around the world have introduced financial disclosure systems, becoming commonplace around the world. But, although the rules are on the books, many practitioners are still struggling with the intricacies of the rules and how to implement them in the socioeconomic, historical, and legal context of their own country. Little guidance is available to assist them. This book aims to fill that void and provide practitioners with practical scenarios to consider before deciding on a particular course of action.This book contains short chapters that elaborate each topic and provide clear guidance on the issues that policy makers and those involved in the implementation of financial disclosure obligations will need to take into account before making a decision. How do you decide who should file? And how often? On-line or in hard copy? And what exactly? Everything they own directly—or also those apartments they own indirectly? How should information in declarations be checked? Should it be shared with public? How accessible should it be? This is the sort of practical guidance that this book aims to provide.

Going for Broke is a practical tool to help policymakers, public officials, and those who have been entrusted with recovering stolen assets by informing them of how insolvency tools can be used to recover proceeds of corruption.

The Asset Recovery Handbook is a practical tool to help policymakers, public officials, and those who have been entrusted with recovering stolen assets by informing them on how to pursue proceeds of corruption and navigate the challenges of international asset recovery.