Government Inspector General Doan Hong Phong has sent a report to National Assembly Deputies, mentioning some contents related to anti-corruption.

Voters from HCM City and Da Nang have asked the government to closely supervise the asset declarations by state officials, so as to timely discover those with non-transparent assets, and prevent officials from dispersing and hiding assets.

Voters from Vinh Long and HCM City have asked to resolutely and strictly handle individuals and organizations that commit corruption behaviors; stipulate heavier penalties for corruption; and perfect the legal framework to prevent disperse of assets and maximize recovery of assets from corruption.

In reply, the government inspector said that seizing assets created by corruption is a major issue in repairing the consequences in embezzlement cases. In the last few years, measures to take back assets created by embezzlement have been applied. 

Together with the discovery and strict handling of embezzlement cases, appropriate agencies now are paying attention to applying measures to distrain and block assets during the investigation phase, in order to prevent the dispersal of assets and legalization of assets created by embezzlement.

In addition, government inspectors have encouraged offenders to voluntarily hand over corrupt assets, and to remedy consequences and damages caused by criminal acts toward the State.

Thanks to these measures, the results of asset seizing have improved. However, Phong pointed out that seizing corrupt assets remains one of the biggest shortcomings in embezzlement prevention and fighting.

The problem is that the amount of money that needs to be recovered is huge, while judgment debtors don’t have assets, or have low-value assets. 

Meanwhile, it takes a long time to settle cases, so assets can be dispersed and hidden during that time.

The government has issued Decree 130 on controlling assets and incomes of officials with high positions and power. The Prime Minister has also issued Decision 390 on approving the plan on building a national database on asset and income control.

In an effort to improve the efficiency of corrupt asset recovery and handle illegal enrichment behaviors, the Prime Minister has assigned the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) to build a plan that will permit the taking back of assets without having to go through conviction procedures.

Thu Hang