Block the trick of "sacrificing" yourself to keep corrupt assets

In many corruption cases, taking advantage of the current law which lacks detailed regulations, subjects are willing to "sacrifice" themselves to keep corrupt assets for their families.

At the National Conference on Reviewing 10 Years of the Implementation of the Law on Anti-Corruption held recently in Hanoi, the figures for the past 10 years showed that the damage caused by corruption cases and incidents discovered was nearly 60,000 billion VND and over 400 hectares of land. To date, the amount of money recovered for the State is nearly 4,670 billion VND and over 200 hectares of land.

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According to the authorities, the corruption situation is still serious and complicated, the fight against corruption is not commensurate, not really strong, the results of recovering corrupt assets are still limited. In fact, the number of assets recovered in corruption cases investigated, prosecuted and tried in recent years is still very low.

A typical example is the corruption case at the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (Vinashin), according to the Criminal Judgment dated August 30, 2012 of the Court of Appeal - Supreme People's Court in Hanoi, the total amount of money to be recovered in the case is up to 1,144 billion VND. Of which, 6 companies belonging to Vinashin alone suffered losses from violations related to the case, the total amount to be enforced is up to 1,142 billion VND. After the judgment came into effect, the companies filed a request for enforcement of the judgment with an amount of over 1,049 billion VND. However, by the end of July 2015, the enforcement agency had only recovered more than 2 billion VND, forcing it to return the request for enforcement of over 1,022 billion VND.

Accepting to "sacrifice" oneself to keep corrupt assets

The Resolutions of the 10th, 11th and 12th Party Congresses also pointed out the shortcomings of inspection work in the fight against corruption. The situation of corruption, bureaucratic waste, but negative and social evils have not been prevented and pushed back, and are still complicated. The work of preventing and fighting corruption and waste has not met the requirements. The quality and effectiveness of inspection, supervision and handling of violating Party organizations and Party members are not high, not enough to contribute to preventing and pushing back corruption, waste and negativity within the Party. The coordination between the Procuracy and the investigation agency with relevant agencies in detecting, prosecuting, investigating and handling corruption cases is not tight; the work of recovering and handling corrupt assets is still very limited, not meeting the requirements...

Mr. Cao Van Thang, member of the Central Inspection Commission, said that the reasons for the limited and inadequate results of the fight against corruption are both subjective and objective. Regarding the subjective reasons, the functional forces fighting against corruption have not been really resolute in the process of inspection, investigation, prosecution, and trial, which has been prolonged, making it difficult to collect sufficient evidence. On the other hand, the capacity of a number of cadres doing this work is still limited, they have not fulfilled their responsibilities, and are still respectful and afraid of conflicts. Resolving a number of corruption cases in a number of complicated fields is very difficult...

“In many cases, anti-corruption authorities have not paid attention to and have not promptly applied necessary measures as prescribed by law, such as freezing assets, seizing, temporarily holding, and transferring assets of suspects and defendants, etc., leading to criminals and their relatives having time and conditions to legalize or disperse and hide assets, making it difficult to recover and handle assets later,” said Mr. Cao Van Thang.

Regarding objective causes, according to Mr. Cao Van Thang, the current legal system is still principled, lacking detailed and specific regulations on authority, responsibility, accountability, and procedures for recovering corrupt assets. Asset recovery is mainly through criminal conviction, while there are no clear regulations on recovering corrupt assets without criminal conviction. Regulations on recovering corrupt assets through civil proceedings are only general regulations on protecting ownership rights and compensating for damages. Recovery of corrupt assets through administrative decisions of competent State agencies is rarely implemented...

Corruption is a type of “hidden crime” that is difficult to detect. The subject of corruption is a person with a position, authority, knowledge, and certain professional qualifications. In the past, corruption was often spontaneous, but now it is organized and has very clear group interests. Corruption today is not just one person, one group of people, not just one level but many levels, many levels, so fighting corruption and recovering corrupt assets is very difficult.

Corrupt people use their relatives to legalize their assets, which the law does not have specific provisions to prevent. “Corrupt subjects have used corrupt money and assets to gamble, give to girls, spend on themselves and their families, do “charity”… When necessary, corrupt subjects accept punishment to enjoy corrupt assets for themselves and their relatives in the family with the motto of sacrificing the father’s life to strengthen the son’s life…” - Mr. Cao Van Thang cited.

Must control assets of officials and civil servants

According to data presented at the National Conference on Summarizing 10 Years of Implementing the Law on Anti-Corruption, in the past 10 years, the number of leaders who have been prosecuted is still small compared to the number of corruption cases discovered and prosecuted. Some major cases have not yet assigned responsibility and handled the responsibility of leaders. In the past 10 years, 118 cases have been criminally prosecuted; 800 cases have been disciplined. Only 17 people have been disciplined for dishonestly declaring their assets.

One of the main solutions to effectively prevent corruption is to first raise awareness for Party committees and organizations, and first of all, leaders in clearly defining their roles and responsibilities. In cases where officials and Party members are found to have violated the law, Party committees and inspection committees will direct law enforcement agencies to prosecute, investigate, and strictly try them, and not to handle them within the Party.

“Do not allow cadres and party members to take advantage of their positions and powers for personal gain. Ensure strict control over the granting and implementation of political power, economic power, etc. by civil servants to avoid corruption abuse for individuals or groups of people with “group interests” or “local interests” - Mr. Cao Van Thang suggested.

MSc. Pham Thi Hanh, Communist Magazine also said that Party committees at all levels and leaders must truly consider anti-corruption work as a major focus of Party building and State building, clearly identifying key areas and key areas in each period to focus on directing. Selecting and arranging cadres with capacity, courage and moral qualities is the work of anti-corruption. Continuing to improve the capacity and fighting strength of Party organizations, the pioneering and exemplary role of cadres and Party members, especially leaders in agencies and units.

Along with that, to fight corruption promptly and effectively, it is necessary to control the income of all people, including controlling the assets of officials and civil servants. The declaration and disclosure of assets and income of officials and civil servants must be linked to the verification of their assets and income. Therefore, it is necessary to soon complete regulations and mechanisms on declaration and disclosure, and control of income of officials and civil servants in a practical manner, avoiding formalities.

According to Mr. Cao Van Thang, “anyone who holds a position or has power nationwide must make a national declaration. At the provincial, district, commune and equivalent levels, it must be made public at that level. It is necessary to make public through the apparatus of the Party, government, Fatherland Front and socio-political organizations.”

MSc. Pham Thi Hanh, Communist Magazine also emphasized the need to soon perfect the mechanism and solutions to prevent corruption. Research to have regulations on receiving and handling anonymous or hidden denunciations of corruption; civil servants must explain the origin of assets when requested and handle acts of illegal enrichment. Research and amend the law in the direction of increasing fines, exempting criminal liability or reducing penalties for those who commit acts of corruption but have proactively reported and overcome the consequences. Complete regulations on handling corrupt assets, supplement regulations to prevent dispersal, ensure the recovery and confiscation of assets obtained from corruption.

According to VOV