Listen to Britain's high commissioner speak about plans to assist Cameroon in recovering embezzled funds
YAOUNDE, Nov 17 (TrustLaw) - Britain's high commissioner to Cameroon says his government is ready to support anti-corruption measures in the west-central African country and will help recover any embezzled money that may be stashed in Britain.
A major anti-graft campaign in Cameroon has seen the arrest of key members of the government on allegations of fraud and corruption, including the former Secretary General of the Presidency and Minister for External Relations Jean Marie Atangana Mebara, former Economy and Finance Minister Polycarpe Abah Abah, former Public Health Minister Urbain Olanguena Awono, several heads of state-run corporations and parliamentarians.
British diplomat Bharat Joshi said the "Operation Epervier" (Sparrow-hawk) campaign - which has been criticised by the media and some civil society groups as a political vehicle for targeting potential presidential candidates ahead of 2012 elections - has had an impact in a country where corruption is endemic.
Joshi said his mission will launch an anti-corruption strategy in April next year under which experts at Britain's New Scotland Yard will train Cameroonian officials in investigating financial crimes and retrieving expropriated money.
He said this would lead to a better understanding of the legal processes involved when submitting requests for the repatriation of stolen funds to authorities in Britain, which is one of the African country's former colonial powers.
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