Sentence:  But for decades, many executives actually employed sokaiya as muscle to keep unruly investors in check during their choreographed annual meetings. [...] Yet executives' reliance on mobsters turned out to be a <WSD>Faustian bargain</WSD>. By the 1970s, the sokaiya had figured out how to become stockholders themselves and threaten to ask embarrassing questions at annual meetings. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  A deal in which one focuses on present gain without considering the long-term consequences.