Nationwide, 51 leaders were disciplined for corruption.

The Government's 2021 anti-corruption report sent to the expanded standing meeting of the Judicial Committee on the morning of September 6 affirmed that anti-corruption work continued to be promoted, achieving many important results, and in some cases higher than last year.

4 cases of returning gifts of 350 million VND

Anti-corruption work is associated with organizational and personnel work, strictly handling violations according to Party and State disciplinary regulations and criminal proceedings; affirming strong determination, "non-stop", "without rest", "no forbidden zones, no exceptions" in the fight against anti-corruption.

The Government also emphasized: "Do not let work stagnate due to the impact of the epidemic, resolutely and strictly handle all cases of taking advantage of epidemic prevention and control work to commit corruption, negativity, and cause trouble for people and businesses."

According to reports from ministries, branches, provinces, centrally-run cities and relevant agencies, organizations and units, during the period, 51 leaders were disciplined for lack of responsibility for corruption. Of these, 16 leaders were criminally prosecuted; 35 were disciplined (16 were reprimanded, 10 were warned, and 9 were dismissed).

Ministries, branches and localities have conducted 3,108 inspections of the implementation of norms, standards and regimes, detecting 276 cases and 376 violators (a decrease of 27.2% in the number of cases and 37.1% in the number of violators compared to 2020); administratively handled 188 people; proposed to recover 50.8 billion VND, of which 43 billion VND has been recovered.

The work of inspecting and supervising the organization and implementation of the code of conduct of cadres, civil servants and public employees in performing their duties, public service and in social relations is also given attention and focus.

Accordingly, inspections were conducted on the implementation of the code of conduct of officials and civil servants at 5,530 agencies, organizations and units (an increase of 63.5% compared to 2020); violations were promptly detected and corrected and 80 officials, civil servants and public employees who violated the code of conduct and professional ethics were handled (a decrease of 44.9% compared to 2020).

The Government also said that in 2021, there were 4 cases of returning gifts to the unit, with an amount of 350 million VND and 2 people were handled for violating business regulations during the period of not being allowed to do business after leaving office.

The fear of strict punishment makes officials "hesitate"

According to the Government's assessment, the work of inspection, auditing, and handling of complaints and denunciations contributes to preventing, detecting, and handling corruption. The work of investigation, prosecution, and trial is focused on and directed decisively.

Referring to difficulties, obstacles, problems and limitations, the Government pointed out that there is still a situation where officials and civil servants are indifferent and afraid to fight against negative manifestations and corruption within the organization.

It is worth noting that there is still concern that stepping up anti-corruption efforts and severely handling many officials and party members who commit violations will reduce innovation and creativity, "daunt" those who dare to think and take responsibility, and "slow down" development.

The work of organizing, staffing and managing staff, civil servants and public employees to prevent and combat corruption is still limited. In some ministries, branches and localities, the appointment of leaders and managers has not been implemented in accordance with regulations on processes and procedures, but the process is slow and inconsistent, there are even cases of "lightning-speed" appointments, appointments that do not meet the conditions and standards, lack of transparency... causing skepticism in public opinion.

Violations of norms, standards and regimes still occur in many places; implementation of codes of conduct, professional ethics and control of conflicts of interest in some areas is not effective; control of assets and income of people with positions and powers is still formal and ineffective.

Handling the responsibility of heads of agencies, organizations and units for corruption and job transfer still has problems but is slow to be amended.

In addition, the work of preventing and combating corruption in some localities, ministries and sectors has not had a clear change. The handling of assets related to corruption and economic cases is still slow; the recovery rate of corrupt assets is still low compared to the assets that have been misappropriated or damaged. There are still localities that have not detected or handled corruption cases during the year.

The Government believes that corruption in many areas is still serious and complicated, with increasingly sophisticated manifestations, causing outrage in society.

The Government also forecasts that in 2022, corruption “will become increasingly sophisticated, complicated, and unpredictable.” Therefore, it is necessary to resolutely and persistently fight to prevent and repel corruption with political determination and stronger, more drastic, and more effective actions.