Recovery of proceeds deriving from corruption is now increasingly recognized as a principle of contemporary international law. However, people's sovereign and ownership rights over their wealth and natural resources have remained more theoretical than real, especially in the global fight against corruption. As a result, the populations of victim-states often cannot hold their governments accountable for misusing proceeds of corruption, and do not benefit from the recovery, repatriation, management, and use of returned proceeds. In the first comprehensive study on the issue, Kolawole Olaniyan challenges the conventional notion that sovereign and ownership rights over wealth and natural resources - and by extension, the proceeds of corruption - should be exclusively exercised by states. Olaniyan's Ownership of Proceeds of Corruption in International Law examines the relationship between the right to wealth and natural resources, proceeds of corruption, and economic activities. Focusing on victims of corruption, the book argues that victim-states' populations ought to be empowered to pursue grand corruption and asset recovery actions against their governments. It proposes theoretical and legal remedies for recovering proceeds of corruption, encouraging the development of domestic laws.

In recovering assets that are or that represent the proceeds, objects, or instrumentalities of grand corruption, do states violate the human rights of politically exposed persons, their relatives, or their associates? Radha Ivory asks whether cooperative efforts to confiscate illicit wealth are compatible with rights to property in public international law. She explores the tensions between the goals of controlling high-level, high-value corruption and ensuring equal enjoyment of civil and political rights. Through the jurisprudence of regional human rights tribunals and the literature on confiscation and international cooperation, Ivory shows how asset recovery is a human rights issue and how principles of legality and proportionality have mediated competing interests in analogous matters. In cases of asset recovery, she predicts that property rights will likewise enable questions of individual entitlement to be considered in the context of collective concerns with good governance, global economic inequality, and the suppression of transnational crime.

Non-trial resolutions, often referred to as settlements, have been the predominant means of enforcing foreign bribery and other related offences since the entry into force of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention 20 years ago. The last decade has seen a steady increase in the use of coordinated multi-jurisdictional non-trial resolutions, which have, to date, permitted the highest global amount of combined financial penalties in foreign bribery cases. This study is the first cross-country examination of the different types of resolutions that can be used to resolve foreign bribery cases.

Development efforts will remain frustrated so long as corrupt leaders continue to steal their countries' wealth and dispose of these ill-gotten gains in foreign jurisdictions. The prevention of such looting, and the recovery of the stolen assets are thus critical development issues and a cornerstone of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (2003) (UNCAC). However, to date experience with asset recovery is limited, and a number of legal and other obstacles continue to impede progress. This is the first comprehensive work on asset recovery, written by renowned practitioners and academics representing different legal systems and countries, all of whom have extensive experience in the asset recovery field. The authors notably discuss the 'success stories' of the past (the recovery of the assets of Sani Abacha, Ferdinand Marcos and Vladimiro Montesinos) and the concrete challenges for the future with regard to search, seizure, confiscation and repatriation of stolen assets. The book also provides perspectives on the role of technical assistance and donors in asset recovery and the likely impact of the UNCAC.

This report examines the use of these entities in nearly all cases of corruption. It builds upon case law, interviews with investigators, corporate registries and financial institutions and a 'mystery shopping' exercise to provide evidence of this criminal practice.

This book is a first-of-its-kind, practice-based guide of 36 key concepts?legal, operational, and practical--that countries can use to develop non-conviction based (NCB) forfeiture legislation that will be effective in combating the development problem of corruption and recovering stolen assets.

Developing countries lose billions each year through bribery, misappropriation of funds, and other corrupt practices. Much of the proceeds of this corruption find 'safe haven' in the world's financial centers. These criminal flows are a drain on social services and economic development programs, contributing to the impoverishment of the world's poorest countries. Many developing countries have already sought to recover stolen assets. A number of successful high-profile cases with creative international cooperation has demonstrated that asset recovery is possible. However, it is highly complex, involving coordination and collaboration with domestic agencies and ministries in multiple jurisdictions, as well as the capacity to trace and secure assets and pursue various legal options—whether criminal confiscation, non-conviction based confiscation, civil actions, or other alternatives. This process can be overwhelming for even the most experienced practitioners. It is exceptionally difficult for those working in the context of failed states, widespread corruption, or limited resources. With this in mind, the Stolen Asset Recovery (StAR) Initiative has developed and updated this Asset Recovery Handbook: A Guide for Practitioners to assist those grappling with the strategic, organizational, investigative, and legal challenges of recovering stolen assets. A practitioner-led project, the Handbook provides common approaches to recovering stolen assets located in foreign jurisdictions, identifies the challenges that practitioners are likely to encounter, and introduces good practices. It includes examples of tools that can be used by practitioners, such as sample intelligence reports, applications for court orders, and mutual legal assistance requests. StAR—the Stolen Asset Recovery Initiative—is a partnership between the World Bank Group and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime that supports international efforts to end safe havens for corrupt funds. StAR works with developing countries and financial centers to prevent the laundering of the proceeds of corruption and to facilitate more systematic and timely return of stolen assets.

The OECD Anti-Bribery Convention focuses on enforcement through the criminalisation of foreign bribery but it is multidisciplinary and includes key requirements to combat money laundering, accounting fraud, and tax evasion connected to foreign bribery. The first step, however, in enforcing foreign bribery and related offences is effective detection. This study looks at the primary sources of detection for the foreign bribery offence and the role that certain public agencies and private sector actors can play in uncovering this crime. It examines the practices developed in different sectors and countries which have led to the successful detection of foreign bribery with a view to sharing good practices and improving countries’ capacity to detect and ultimately step-up efforts against transnational bribery. The study covers a wide range of potential sources for detecting foreign bribery: self-reporting; whistleblowers and whistleblower protection; confidential informants and cooperating witnesses; media and investigative journalism; tax authorities; financial intelligence units; other government agencies; criminal and other legal proceedings; international co-operation and professional advisers.

Asset Forfeiture Law in the United States - Second Edition serves as both a primer on forfeiture law for the newcomer to this area, as well as a handy resource for anyone needing a comprehensive discussion of any of the recurring and evolving forfeiture issues that arise daily in federal practice. The author is one of the federal government's leading experts on asset forfeiture law. As a federal prosecutor, he has been litigating asset forfeiture cases since the late 1980's, was a Deputy Chief of the Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section for many years, and is now the Chief of the Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore, MD. Asset Forfeiture Law in the United States - Second Edition is a completely revised and up-to-date treatise that addresses important changes and significant developments in civil and criminal forfeiture law. Every chapter has been rewritten as a result of the explosive growth in this area of law and practice. This comprehensive one-volume resource examines and explores the outpouring of new case law stemming from federal law enforcement agencies that include the FBI, DEA, IRS and Homeland Security. The Second Edition continues to lead the practitioner, prosecutor, judge and policy maker through the labyrinth of statues, rules and cases that govern this dynamic area of the law. Many countries in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as Australia and the Americas, have enacted asset forfeiture statutes modeled on U.S. law, making the cases interpreting the statutes relevant beyond the borders of the United States.