VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHTG #0666 2101539
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 291539Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY TEGUCIGALPA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0275
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE IMMEDIATE
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC IMMEDIATE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC IMMEDIATE
RUMIAAA/USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL IMMEDIATE

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000666 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIN KDEM PGOV HO
SUBJECT: TFH01: FOLLOW-UP REPORT ON BANK ACCOUNT FREEZES 
 
REF: A. TEGUCIGALPA 611 
     ¶B. TEGUCIGALPA 579 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Ref A reported rumors, none of which Post was 
able to confirm of banks closing the personal accounts of 
people associated with the Zelaya administration and their 
families.  Further investigation has confirmed that there was 
no/no wholesale freezing of accounts and that the banks have 
been acting on the basis of the international anti-money 
laundering standards.  A separate investigation of payment 
problems of the de facto government showed that the 
government's financial system (SIAFI) was shut down for three 
days after the coup and was not fully operational for some 
time after that as the Minister of Finance required 
re-authorization of the system users.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Treasury Advisors from the Office of Technical 
Assistance met July 22 with Maria Lidya Solano, head of the 
Honduran Bankers Association (AHIBA), to follow up on reports 
of disruptions to the financial system following the June 28 
coup.  A preliminary investigation (ref A) indicated rumors 
that banks were freezing accounts of people associated with 
deposed President Manuel "Mel" Zelaya were probably not true. 
 Solano added some perspective, noting that the Honduran 
banking system is characterized by many large, atypical cash 
transactions, which compliance officers are required by law 
to report to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) at 
National Banking and Insurance Commission (CNBS).  The FIU 
must immediately advise the Attorney General's Office of 
suspicious transactions.  The AG's Office can then freeze 
accounts for up to three days, after which it must release 
the account unless it has obtained a court order to freeze 
the account indefinitely. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Solano explained that during the period immediately 
after the coup, the normally large volume of suspicious 
transactions increased, and she was meeting with compliance 
officers twice a week instead of every other week as usual. 
(Comment: one compliance officer was fired for not 
appropriately notifying FIU of a suspicious transaction.  End 
Comment.).  The Treasury Advisors confirmed that OTA 
Financial Crimes unit assisted CNBS in developing the money 
laundering law (Decree No. 45-2002).  The head of the 
Financial Crimes unit also sent us a draft copy of the World 
Bank's Assessment Report on Anti-money Laundering and 
Combating the Financing of Terrorism for Honduras, which 
stated "Important progress has been achieved in compliance in 
the banking sector.  The banking sector has the highest level 
of compliance especially for new customers." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Treasury advisors also spoke with compliance 
managers/officers at some major banks -- Atlantida, Occidente 
and Ficohsa.  The banks confirmed that they were following 
the legal process and that there always is a large volume of 
atypical transactions which trigger notification to the FIU. 
They were reluctant, however, to be very specific about 
changes in volumes at the time of the coup because of bank 
secrecy laws.  The compliance manager at Banco Atlantida 
(also President of AHIBA's Compliance Committee) said that 
Atlantida had not closed any accounts and, based on 
conversations with other compliance officers, was not aware 
of any other freezing of accounts. 
 
¶5. (U) Additionally, the Treasury advisors have learned that 
the SIAFI problems probably arose because, after shutting 
down the system for three days to stop the unauthorized 
outflow of funds, de facto Finance Minister Gabriela Nunez 
required each government organization on the SIAFI system to 
confirm the authorized users that are allowed to enter SIAFI 
and to make payments and authorize transfers.  Not all 
government organizations have complied with this requirement, 
which may explain why a number of payments have not been made 
on time, which may have caused some bank customers to 
inadvertently overdraw their accounts. 
LLORENS