United Kingdom funds anti-bribery and financial crime detection training for Honduras
The British Embassy has worked with the Judicial System, the Prosecutor’s Office and civil society in Honduras to combat transnational crime and promote transparency worldwide.
Ambassador Sarah Dickson and authorities from Honduras
More than £8,000 (L260,000) has been invested by the UK in criminal enforcement training and technical assistance for judges, prosecutors, magistrates, private sector, and civil society organisations of Honduras.
The training consisted of seminars and roundtables with international experts John McKendrick and Nino Vaprio. John McKendrick is a British private lawyer that specialises in transparency issues and regularly acts for Her Majesty’s Government before the UK courts. Nino Vaprio is a Panamanian international expert on security issues that works as and advisor for the Government of Panama.
This project, a partnership between the UK and the Honduran governments, addressed broad issues of financial crime as well as focused discussions on issues of specific interest to Honduras, such as contraband, money laundering and cybercrime. A case study of the UK Bribery Act also provided attendees with Britain’s views on how to enforce transparency rules across different sectors.
The events were attended by more than 150 people including representatives from the Supreme Court of Justice, the Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Attorney Office, British businesses in country, Transparency International chapter for Honduras, and academia.
The attendees discussed crucial measures, including developing national anti-financial crime strategies, fostering domestic and regional coordination, developing mechanisms that strive for a safer, stronger Internet for citizens, and how to implement international agreements on transparency.
To mark this one-of-a-kind project, the British Ambassador to Honduras, Sarah Dickson said:
“As free trade grows, businesses and the financial systems expand throughout Central America; nations are grappling with financial threats ranging from contraband and bribery to cybercrime. We want to help the Honduran authorities and civil society to address these issues, by sharing our experience and international best practices. This project reflects our priorities of supporting the Honduran Justice System and boosting transparent and ethical businesses amongst our countries”.