TEGUCIGALPA – Ambassador James Nealon and Minister Coordinator of the Government Jorge Hernandez Alcerro today launched Honduras’ first Financial Investigations Guide (Guia de Investigacion Financiera y Contable) that will assist the country’s prosecutors, financial analysts, and law enforcement officers in conducting financial investigations that meet the highest international standards. The guide, grounded in Honduran law, teaches best practices for financial investigations. It will be incorporated into the curriculum of the Honduran Judicial School and will be provided to new prosecutors and to Public Ministry and police investigators who work on complex financial investigations. U.S. Government advisors will provide technical training and assistance on using the guide.
“Money laundering and financial crimes are very complex, and they infect many banks and financial organizations around the world. This guide will be an extremely useful tool in confronting money laundering and organized crime,” noted the Ambassador. “The U.S. Government will continue to support Honduran law enforcement efforts to bring those involved in financial crimes to justice, just as we are doing with narcotrafficking.”
Although sometimes referred to as victimless crimes, financial schemes often claim innocent individuals who lose all that they own. Large-scale money laundering sustains an underground economy that adversely affects the economic strength of a country and its citizens. The Financial Investigations Guide will provide Honduran investigators with the necessary technical knowledge to trace illegal funds back to criminal sources.
