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Mr. Godber has been charged in Hong Kong under Section 10 of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance. This section makes it an offence for a public servant to be in possession of pecuniary resources disproportionate to his official emoluments, unless he can give a satisfactory explanation. There is, however, no similar offence under United Kingdom law. Under the United Kingdom Fugitive Offenders Act, a person may not be extradited from Britain for an offence unless that offence is also an offence under UK law. Consequently Mr. Godber cannot be extradited unless the Hong Kong authorities can produce evidence
of an extraditable offence, e.g. the actual taking of a bribe. Their enquiries into this aspect of the case are also being pursued vigorously.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Secretary asks me to tell you, for Mr. Wilson's information, that the Hong Kong Government are determined to pursue their investigations into possible cases of corruption at whatever level they occur.
(J. D. F. Holt)
Private Secretary