Anti Corruption

The National Congress is prioritizing laws and decrees that benefit business sectors while sidelining anti-corruption initiatives, including a bill against nepotism in public administration and efforts to repeal a decree that restored parliamentary immunity.

An assessment by academics, civil-society groups, businesses, international donors, and political actors finds that 80% consider the government's anti-corruption response ineffective, with widespread doubt that deep structural change is occurring.

Congressman Marco Tulio Rodríguez (Liberal Party) said electrical-sector reforms should include legislation against energy theft and require public bidding rather than direct contracts, arguing that will prevent inflated costs and rigged deals for Hondurans.

The Association for a Just Society says the government has not implemented key commitments from its National Anti-Corruption Strategy, including appointing a Presidential Commissioner for Transparency, despite announcing plans for new anti-corruption legislation.

Honduras's anti-corruption council announced investigations into alleged corruption at the Social Housing Fund (Fosovi) and at least seven other public institutions, urging prosecutors to bring those responsible to justice.

A public-opinion poll finds that 79.3% of Hondurans continue to demand installation of an international anti-corruption commission (CICIH), even after the government rejected the mechanism, citing deep distrust of domestic courts, police, and security institutions.

Julissa Villanueva, former security undersecretary, is outside Honduras and did not appear at the anti-corruption unit ATIC's offices; her legal team requested permission to testify via Zoom.

Five months after the Attorney General's office submitted a draft modernizing Honduras's public-contracting rules—with digital tools, certified suppliers, and tighter controls—Congress says it has not yet received the formal executive version needed to begin legislative review.

More than 30 law students from seven Honduran universities are participating in San Pedro Sula in the 18th edition of the National Anti-Corruption Council's legal specialization program, which aims to deepen their expertise in anti-corruption work and connect them with professionals committed to transparency.

The Judicial School held a national gathering of specialized judges on organized crime, environmental, and corruption cases, aimed at strengthening judicial capacity and rule-of-law enforcement with support from the U.S. Embassy's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau.

Congress has reactivated L100,000 (about $4,000) per-legislator social-aid funds under a new oversight framework where lawmakers serve only as liaisons, with an anti-corruption council helping draft accountability rules.

Former anti-corruption unit chief Luis Javier Santos says the Superior Court of Accounts issued clearance documents that accused officials used to avoid criminal prosecution, calling the institution a politically controlled body that served to shield the corrupt rather than hold them accountable.

More than a month after Honduras's government unveiled a national anti-corruption strategy to replace a planned international commission, President Nasry Asfura has not yet named the Presidential Commissioner for Transparency who would lead it, raising doubts about the plan's independence and real authority.

The National Anticorruption Council launched its first Regional Forums for Integrity and Municipal Governance in Olanchito, Yoro, bringing together public institutions, civil society, and local governments to strengthen transparency and good governance in Honduras's municipalities.

The Public Prosecutor's Office secured a new conviction against former officials and business people for large-scale fraud in the '14 Contracts' case involving the Honduran Social Security Institute (IHSS).

A specialized tribunal sentenced five people—two former Social Security Institute executives and three construction contractors—to prison terms and fines for their roles in a scheme to embezzle nearly 158 million lempiras (about $6.3 million) through irregular infrastructure contracts awarded between 2010 and 2013.

A corruption court convicted three former Social Security Institute officials, including Mario Roberto Zelaya and José Ramón Bertetty, of ongoing fraud in a 2016 CNA investigation into overpriced contracts for work at Hospital Regional del Norte, sentencing them to nine years and four months in prison.

The Association for a More Just Society and the National Anti-Corruption Council have endorsed a proposal to split Honduras's state electricity company (ENEE) into three commercial companies for generation, transmission, and distribution, but analysts say the groups have softened their oversight of the Asfura government and that the reform has not been adequately discussed with the public.

The Public Transparency and Anti-Corruption Office and its Comayagua regional division are seeking information from Humuya municipality regarding its appointment processes as part of a corruption investigation.

Honduras's National Anti-Corruption Council released a report analyzing the implications of former President Juan Orlando Hernández's return to the country, stating that his presence is a test of whether the justice system can investigate and prosecute alleged crimes with independence and impartiality.

Honduras's National Anti-Corruption Council accused former OABI director Marco Antonio Zelaya of fraudulent administration over irregularities in a L 26 million (about $1 million) loan to a company under state custody, bypassing required feasibility studies and budget rules.

Attorney General Johel Zelaya removed Luis Javier Santos from leading the anti-corruption unit Uferco, reassigning him to a training school, a move former prosecutors warn weakens Honduras's fight against corruption and may serve political interests.

Foreign Minister Eduardo Enrique Reina delivered a formal request to UN Secretary-General António Guterres to establish the CICIH, an independent anti-corruption commission the Castro government hopes to have operating before June 2022.