People with positions and powers who receive gifts that are not in accordance with regulations must refuse them.

On March 27, in Hanoi, the Government Inspectorate coordinated with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam and the British Embassy in Vietnam to organize a consultation workshop on the Draft Decree guiding the implementation of the 2018 Law on Anti-Corruption (AC).

On November 20, 2018, the National Assembly passed the 2018 Law on Anti-Corruption, replacing the 2005 Law on Anti-Corruption, effective from July 1, 2019.

It is necessary to specify in detail the application of PCTN measures in the private sector.

In his opening speech, Deputy Inspector General of the Government Tran Ngoc Liem emphasized: This is an important workshop, a premise for building a quality Decree, bringing the Law into life, and having practical effects in anti-corruption work.

To implement the Law in a synchronous and effective manner, ensuring feasibility, the Law assigns the Government to specify 15 specific articles and clauses in detail.

Deputy Inspector General of Government Tran Ngoc Liem delivered the opening speech at the workshop. (Photo: TH)

The Decree has a wide scope of regulation, covering many contents that were previously regulated in many different decrees and documents such as regulations on controlling conflicts of interest; changing work positions; giving and receiving gifts, etc.

In addition, the Decree also needs to provide detailed regulations on the application of anti-corruption measures in enterprises and organizations in the non-state sector. This can be considered a new and difficult content, the first time Vietnam has regulated this issue.

According to Ms. Akiko Fujii, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP in Viet Nam, corruption is one of the biggest obstacles to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. Despite the efforts of many countries, an estimated $3.6 trillion is lost each year due to corruption. It is time for more drastic actions.

Appreciating Vietnam’s efforts in anti-corruption work, Ms. Akiko Fujii pointed out that one of the new points of the 2018 Anti-Corruption Law is the expansion of the scope of anti-corruption to the private sector. All these efforts demonstrate Vietnam’s commitment to implementing Goal 16 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, in which significantly reducing corruption and bribery in all its forms is one of the key indicators.

People with positions and powers who receive gifts that are not in accordance with regulations must refuse them.

Introducing the basic contents of the Draft Decree, Deputy Director of the Legal Department, Government Inspectorate Nguyen Tuan Anh said that there are many notable new contents in the 11 chapters of the draft. Of which, Chapter 4 stipulates the implementation of the code of conduct for people with positions and powers. Accordingly, it specifically stipulates the period of time during which people with positions and powers are not allowed to establish, hold titles, management positions, or operate private enterprises after leaving their positions for 14 ministries and branches.

Notably, the Draft stipulates: Agencies, organizations, units, and people with positions and powers are only allowed to use public finance and public assets to make gifts for charitable and foreign affairs purposes and to implement policies and regimes for senior officials and people with revolutionary contributions. Gift giving must comply with legal regulations on regimes, standards, and subjects.

According to the Draft, agencies, organizations and units that receive gifts that do not comply with regulations must refuse them. If they cannot refuse, they must return the gifts to the responsible department for handling according to regulations. Similarly, persons with positions and powers must also refuse gifts that do not comply with regulations. If they cannot refuse, they must report to the Head of their agency, organization or unit and return the gifts within 5 working days from the date of receipt of the gifts.

The handling of gifts is clearly stated. Gifts in cash or valuable papers must be submitted by the head to the state budget according to regulations; gifts in kind must be valued and publicly sold to be submitted to the state budget...

The draft also provides specific regulations on administrative sanctions for acts of corruption in enterprises and organizations in the non-state sector. Accordingly, acts of bribery or bribery brokerage to resolve the work of one's own enterprise or organization but not to the extent of being prosecuted for criminal liability will be subject to a warning or a fine of VND5 million to VND10 million; fines of VND10 million to VND20 million will be imposed for acts of embezzlement or bribery but not to the extent of being prosecuted for criminal liability.

The highest fine for corruption in the non-state sector is up to 100 million VND if there are signs of harassment, taking advantage of charity activities or difficult circumstances of other organizations or individuals to commit violations, and after committing the violation, there are acts of evading or concealing the violation.

To handle the overlapping and duplication in the inspection of the implementation of the provisions of the Law on Anti-Corruption for enterprises and organizations, the Decree stipulates: During the inspection process, if there is any overlap in the scope, subjects, content, and time of inspection between the inspection of ministries, between the Ministry Inspectorate and the Provincial Inspectorate, then: For overlapping inspections between the inspection of ministries, the inspection of the ministry with the function of state management of the main industry and field of operation of the inspected subject shall conduct the inspection. For overlapping inspections between the Ministry Inspectorate and the Provincial Inspectorate, the Ministry Inspectorate shall conduct the inspection. In case the inspection agencies cannot agree on the handling of the overlap, there shall be a written request to the Government Inspector General for consideration and decision.../.