Cuban official says corruption crackdown to go on

Cuban official says corruption crackdown to go on
By Nelson Acosta
HAVANA | Wed Nov 9, 2011 6:29pm EST

(Reuters) - Cuba's top law enforcement official said Wednesday a
crackdown on corruption that has given Cuba's international business
community the jitters will continue and warned that no one was immune
from prosecution.

Attorney General Dario Delgado, speaking at a conference on corruption,
said the anti-corruption drive now underway in Cuba is "systematic,
permanent" and necessary to strengthen the communist country's economy.

"We will continue fighting until exhaustion, mercilessly, against all
manifestations of corruption in the country, committed by foreigners or
nationals," he said.

The crackdown began when President Raul Castro succeeded older brother
Fidel Castro at the country's helm in 2008 and said widespread theft and
graft had to be eliminated because it contributed to the Caribbean
island's chronic economic woes.

It coincided with reforms to strengthen Cuba's socialist system. Dozens
of Cubans have been jailed, including former government officials and
top executives of state companies.

In recent months, executives of two Canadian trading companies and a
British investment firm have been detained while investigators probe
their finances, diplomatic and business sources said.

Last year, a Cuban joint venture with a Chilean firm was shut down and
its Chilean executive Max Marambio sentenced in absentia to a long
prison term for graft. Marambio, once a close friend of Fidel Castro's,
stayed in Chile and denied the charges.

The legal actions have created unease among foreign businessmen, many of
whom say they fear being unjustly accused of illicit acts. Those worries
discourage foreign investment in Cuba at a time when the island needs
it, they said.

Delgado, speaking to reporters after his speech, said the government had
no problem with foreign businesses nor had the foreigners complained
about the crackdown.

"They have understood that (corruption) has to be eliminated. It is a
very noxious practice," he said.

"We will never stop defending the flags of honesty and dignity. It is
our duty," Delgado said.

(Reporting by Nelson Acosta; Writing by Jeff Franks; Editing by Kevin
Gray and Anthony Boadle)

http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/11/09/us-cuba-corruption-idUSTRE7A88F820111109