Guatemala – Financial Treason & Crime

US state department names more than 50 corrupt officials in Central America

Associated Press in Guatemala City, 01 July 2021

The US state department has named more than 50 current and former officials, including former presidents and active lawmakers, suspected of corruption or undermining democracy in three Central American countries.

Among the most prominent figures on the list are former Honduras president José Porfirio “Pepe” Lobo Sosa and his wife Rosa Elena Bonilla de Lobo. The State Department report alleges Lobo Sosa took bribes from a drug cartel and his wife was involved in fraud and misappropriation of funds. Both deny the allegations. Bonilla’s conviction on related charges was invalidated by the supreme court last year and she is awaiting a new trial. Continue reading “Article: US state department names more than 50 corrupt officials in Central America”

Britain targets 22 people with new anti-corruption sanctions

JILL LAWLESS , 26 April 2021

LONDON — Britain imposed asset freezes and travel bans Monday on 22 people accused of bribery, kickbacks and fraud in its first use of new sanctions powers to target corruption around the world.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told lawmakers that the sanctions would prevent the U.K. from being used as “a haven for dirty money.”

The list includes 14 Russians implicated in a $230 million tax fraud and three members of the Gupta business family who are enmeshed in a corruption scandal in South Africa. Britain is also sanctioning businessman Ashraf Seed Ahmed Al-Cardinal, accused of stealing state assets in impoverished South Sudan, and individuals from Honduras, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Continue reading “Article: Britain targets 22 people with new anti-corruption sanctions”