Vietnamese civil servants holding positions at levels of ministerial bureaus and departments or higher should be banned from depositing money or assets abroad or owning property overseas, according to a research group’s proposal aimed at preventing corruption and improving the recovery of losses in corruption case.
Such a proposed prohibition is one of many solutions that have been raised in a study on “recovery of property from corruption cases – the practice in Vietnam and international experience” conducted by a group of researchers under the Vietnam Party Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs.
The suggested ban was voiced by Vu Thu Hanh, deputy director of the Commission’s General Research Department, when she was presenting a report on the results of the study at a seminar held in Hanoi on March 13.
One of the solutions to improve recovery of property from corruption cases is that there should be a regulation banning officials holding positions at the ministerial bureau and department levels upward from depositing money or assets abroad or taking ownership of property overseas, Hanh said, citing the study.
Such a regulation will help prevent and detect corruption involving foreign factors, and prevent the possibility that corrupt officials secretly build economic foundations abroad so that they can flee and live on such foundations after committing acts of corruption at home, Hanh said.
Property damage caused by corruption is growing, and the situation in which public servants solicit bribes or commit harassment while on duty is still rampant, according to the research group.
Corruption in Vietnam is still serious and complicated, with corrupt acts taking place in many fields and on many levels of power, showing signs of being organized, as well as signs of the existence and influence of interest groups, the researchers said.
Official statistics on the value of property recovered from corruption cases nationwide have yet to be made available, but according to reports from competent agencies, the value of properties recovered from corruption cases in 2013 accounted for only 10% of the total losses in such cases, the group said.
In 2014, the rate was higher, at 22%, the group said, but warned that the actual rate may be lower.
At the seminar, most delegates agreed that the recovery of assets originating from corrupt acts and confiscation of property acquired in corruption cooperation cases are important activities in the fight against corruption.
Pham Quy Ty, former Deputy Minister of Justice, suggested that such property confiscation should be carried out based on court judgments, rather than administrative decisions.
“The commission will review and assess the study’s results and proposals by the research groups so that they can become the commission’s official opinions that will then be submitted to competent Party and government agencies,” said Pham Anh Tuan, deputy head of the Commission for Internal Affairs.
Đăng ký: VietNam News