Bermuda is set to adopt international standards to combat bribery, according to Governor George Fergusson.Speaking before an international workshop yesterday, the Governor said the UK delegate to the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has confirmed that Bermuda will be bringing legislation to extend the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention to the Island.Mr Fergusson said the news was both welcome, and important.Britain pledged in the Foreign Office White Paper last year that it would not allow the corruption seen in the Turks and Caicos occur in other Overseas Territories.A section of the White Paper read: “Bribery must have no place in British business, at home or abroad. The UK Bribery Act 2010 provides a robust legal framework to combat bribery in the UK and internationally.“It applies to British citizens including the Territories. The UK is also committed to implementing international standards, such as the UN Convention Against Corruption and the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.“The UK expects the Territories to adhere to relevant standards and to put the necessary legislation in place so that these conventions can be extended to them.”Mr Fergusson was one of several speakers who opened the 2013 Commonwealth Caribbean Regional Workshop at the Fairmont Hamilton Princess.The two-day conference, titled “Investigating and Prosecuting Complex Transnational Crimes,” is set to continue today.Also speaking at the opening, Director of Public Prosecution Rory Field, who said transnational crime encompasses more than white collar offences like money laundering.Even the shootings that have plagued the Island in recent years have an international element, he said.“Somewhere along the line the gun and the ammunition have been smuggled into Bermuda, so immediately there is an international connection,” Mr Field said.“Whether we are thinking of money laundering or drug trafficking, our jurisdictions are linked together, so we must work together to counter the threat crime provides to our peaceful way of life.”Chief Justice Ian Kawaley said that in the same way international groups come together to combat crime, criminal groups work together to overcome the efforts.“There is a rather uncanny symmetry in the work that we do in the battle against crime and the work that the criminal fraternities across the globe are engaged in.“It is a great challenge for people working in the criminal justice system to keep ahead of the game and to come up with a legal framework, investigative techniques that will allow justice to be done.”Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Mark Pettingill joked about Bermuda’s history of transnational crime, from the infamous Gunpowder Plot to provide British gunpowder to North American rebels to Bermuda’s privateers.However, he said now Bermuda understands the essential need to be beyond refute as a hub of international business.“We are dedicated as a jurisdiction to doing all that is possible to meet international standards and make sure that as a small, business-minded island we are doing all that is necessary to combat economic and financial crime on an international level,” Mr Pettingill said.“Whilst we are on an island, speaking on behalf of myself and my colleagues in the cabinet, we are devoted to the philosophy that no man is an island.“Consequently it is the ability to share ideas and concepts at events such as this that are significant to stay one step ahead of criminal enterprise.”