Honduras: Information on banks, financial companies and credit unions that went bankrupt in San Pedro Sula between 1998 and 2001, particularly those cases in which construction company owners were charged with defrauding such banks
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 30 January 2003 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | HND40684.E |
| Reference | 5 |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Honduras: Information on banks, financial companies and credit unions that went bankrupt in San Pedro Sula between 1998 and 2001, particularly those cases in which construction company owners were charged with defrauding such banks , 30 January 2003, HND40684.E , available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3f7d4da126.html [accessed 17 September 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Various Honduran press reports refer to bankruptcies and closures of banks and financial institutions in San Pedro Sula and Honduras in general during the period in question.
For example, an August 2000 article reports that an audit found fraudulent practices in the operation of Banco Corporativo S.A. (Bancorp), which became insolvent in 1999 after its owners had made risky loans to a related family's group of companies, known as the Bendeck group (La Prensa 29 Aug. 2000). According to an earlier report, Calvin Weddle Calderon, an owner of two "irregularly-constituted" companies (fideicomisos irregularmente constitutidos) that benefited from Bancorp deals enjoyed parliamentary immunity, since he was a deputy and chaired the Congressional Committee on Banking and Currency (Comisión de Banca y Moneda de la Cámara Legislativa) (ibid. 3 Mar. 2000).
Among the sources consulted, only one report linking the bankruptcy or insolvency of a financial institution and a construction company was found for this period: on 8 June 2000, Tegucigalpa's La Prensa reported on the bankruptcy of Inversiones y Servicios Financieros Sociedad Anónima (Insefisa), presided by Jorge Lopez Scott, and referred to as "yet another financial company that went bankrupt" (compañías financieras... y una más de ellas ya quebró). The report adds that this was one of many financial companies that had been operating in Honduras without a licence from the Central Bank of Honduras, which in turn have attracted depositors by offering twice the savings' interest than well-established banks (La Prensa 8 June 2000). The report states that few depositors knew of the insolvency of Insefisa, adding that there was a concern that the money received by the financial company may have been transferred to a construction company – Construcciones, Proyectos e Inversiones Sociedad Anónima, Copreinsa – owned by Jorge López and his brother Evenor, who were also partners in the ownership of Insefisa (ibid.). The 8 June 2000 article states that, according to the president of the National Commission of Insurance and Banking (Comisión Nacional de Bancos y Seguros), Insefisa was one of seven financial services companies being dissolved at that time (ibid.). The report refers to another defunct financial company known as Interfinsa, as having met earlier the same fate as Insefisa (ibid.).
Only one reference to charges against those involved in the above or other bankruptcies of financial institutions operating in San Pedro Sula was found for the period in question, in a January 2002 report from the local daily El Tiempo (6 Jan. 2002). The article quotes the prosecutor (fiscal) of the Financial Crimes Unit (Unidad Contra el Delito Financiero) of the Public Ministry as saying that his institution had pressed charges in four cases and was progressing in the investigation of four others nationally (El Tiempo 6 Jan. 2002). Each case involved several persons, and a total of 45 arrest warrants had been issued for various financial crimes (ibid.). The prosecutor reportedly stated that two cases in particular had taken much of his unit's time – the Interfinsa and Infesa cases (see above) – and added that warrants had been issued in Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula against those involved in the latter case, but the accused had been able to evade justice (ibid.). The prosecutor added that his office had also set in motion the process to try those responsible for the fraudulent issuing of bonds (ibid.).
During a November 2002 conference on the "Banking Crisis" (Crisis en la Banca) of Honduras, an analyst reportedly stated that fraud and lack of adequate supervision were two of the leading causes for the recent collapse of many financial or banking institutions (ibid. 13 Nov. 2002).
This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
La Prensa [Tegucigalpa]. 29 August 2000. "Auditoría extranjera halla fraude criminal en quiebra de Bancorp." _____. 8 June 2000. "Quiebra otra financiera." _____. 3 March 2000. "L.350 millones cuesta a los hondureños quiebra de Bancorp." El Tiempo [San Pedro Sula]. 13 November 2002. "Fraude y falta de supervisión son causas de crisis en ciertos bancos." _____. 6 January 2002. "Delincuentes financieros, hábiles para evitar capturas."