We need to do a good job of recovering assets obtained through corruption.
(Baonghean) - The recent arrest of Giang Kim Dat, former acting head of the business department of Vinashin Ocean Transport Company Limited, who embezzled 18.6 million USD and fled to Singapore several years ago, demonstrates the persistent and resolute attitude of internal affairs agencies in the fight against corruption.
This arrest shocked many and raised numerous questions, wondering how a very young official, holding a relatively low-ranking position at the department head level, could embezzle such a large sum of money. He couldn't possibly have done it alone; it must have involved an entire network working together to accomplish it…
That matter will surely be investigated and clarified by the relevant authorities. And more importantly, the challenge is to recover those millions of USD. This, of course, is a very difficult task. Because the perpetrators are people in positions of power and authority, possessing legal knowledge and expertise, they often employ tactics to evade detection, cover up, and conceal their criminal acts and embezzled assets. Furthermore, once they intend to misappropriate public assets, they never personally own those assets of dubious origin; instead, they transfer ownership to relatives such as spouses, children, parents, etc. Therefore, to date, the investigation, detection, and identification of misappropriated assets or damages caused by corruption are incomplete compared to reality, or even if assets and money have been identified, they cannot be recovered. This leads to a low recovery rate of embezzled assets in practice. This situation gives rise to the mentality of "sacrificing the father's generation to secure the son's future," accepting punishment, refusing to report, and concealing corrupt assets to benefit. This is also a form of "motivation" that drives people to commit corruption.
Therefore, in addition to preventing, monitoring, and investigating corruption, measures are needed to fully and accurately identify corrupt assets in order to recover them for the state budget. Initially, the internal affairs sector should use this $18 million case as a "pilot" to gain experience before expanding it to a wider area. The most difficult aspect of recovering corrupt assets is when those assets are purchased abroad, and Vietnam has not yet signed a mutual legal assistance agreement with that country. Singapore is different; they are signatories to the UN Convention against Corruption, just like Vietnam. This Convention includes provisions for the recovery and seizure of assets of corrupt individuals at the request of the country where the corrupt individual has fled, or the freezing of assets in banks belonging to that individual or their relatives at the request of that country. Therefore, seizing or freezing assets in Singapore is not difficult. As Mr. Pham Anh Tuan, Deputy Head of the Central Internal Affairs Committee, hopes, this will be a breakthrough in recovering corrupt assets.
Upon careful consideration, it becomes clear that if the process of recovering assets obtained through corruption is done well, it will not only prevent the loss of public assets but also be the most effective way to prevent corruption. Simply put, if caught, corruption not only results in imprisonment but also the confiscation of all assets acquired through corruption, effectively resulting in a "lose everything" situation, thus deterring many from engaging in corruption. Therefore, the recovery of assets obtained through corruption must be done thoroughly.
Duy Huong
