Lawyer Saul Froomkin QC has been honoured by the government of Taiwan for his “outstanding achievements” in promoting international cooperation on combating transnational crime.

Mr Froomkin helped found the International Symposium on Economic Crime at Jesus College, Cambridge, 29 years ago, and has served as its chairman since 1984.

At that time, he said, “nobody was even thinking about economic crime”. Now, the symposium attracts between 800 and 1,000 delegates from more than 90 countries to its annual meeting. “This includes about 200 of the top experts in the world everyone from judges to prosecutors, academics, Chief Justices and ambassadors,” he explained.

Taiwan has been involved with the symposium since the very beginning, according to Mr Froomkin, and has been able to seek advice on various issues through the years.

He was awarded the honour in the form of a gold medal by the Minister of Justice for Taiwan, Tseng Yung-fu, during the symposium in Cambridge earlier this month.

“It was really quite a surprise and quite an honour, especially for the Minister of Justice himself to come,” said Mr Froomkin. “I found out that it is the highest award the Ministry can give. I’m deeply humbled and honoured because it’s a prestigious award that’s rarely given out.”

The medal is the latest in a number of accolades won by Mr Froomkin during his 50-year career in law.

He is currently a partner in Mello Jones and Martin, having previously served as Solicitor General and Attorney General of Bermuda.

He was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) by the Queen of England in 1998 and has been invited to present papers on economic crime and money laundering in over 50 countries.