Socialist Republic of Vietnam

(10-06-2005)

HA NOI — The Ministry of Public Security reported they uncovered 176,534 economic crimes in the 12 years prior to 2005, including 9,960 cases of corruption.

The report was released on June 8 at a conference to review, in the presence of Secretary and Head of the Inspection Commission of the Party Central Committee, Nguyen Van Chi, public security force operations against smuggling and corruption.

Corruption has increasingly grown more complicated and larger in scale. The force said they have collected for the State budget VND4 trillion through fines and tax retrievals, and confiscated smuggled goods worth another VND4 trillion from 162,785 cases of trafficking and tax evasion.

Agencies have prosecuted 13,892 people involved in economic crimes, including 4,797 smugglers and traffickers, and 4,007 corrupt officials.

On average, during the 1990s, the amount of money appropriated per case of corruption was VND710 million. The figure increased to VND810 million from 2000 to 2004. Cases have ranged from the oil industry and banking to a textile quota scandal in the Ministry of Trade.

Police said one minister, five deputy ministers, and 14 chairmen or vice chairmen of people’s committees at both provincial and municipal levels have been brought to justice on charges of corruption.

False business contracts are a prevalent form. Many violations have turned up in the capital construction sector in the stages of design, approval, loan allocation, bidding, consultation services, supervision, and payment.

The Government prosecuted hundreds of bank and treasury officials, as well as business directors, for management regulation violations that resulted in trillions of Dong of loss. Using police investigations as a basis, relevant agencies have prosecuted 116 cases of violating value-added tax reimbursement policies.

The conference focused on analysing the reasons and defining potential areas to look for corruption, and locating weaknesses in the current economic management mechanisms.

Officials suggested that the Ministry of Public Security create a programme to prevent and fight corruption, smuggling and trade fraud. While preparing for Viet Nam’s WTO accession bid, such a programme could research and find solutions to fight such criminals, officials said.

Conference participants urged the Ministry to strengthen coordination with other relevant ministries and agencies, including the Government Inspection Agency and the Ministry of Trade.

The Ministry of Public Security pledged to continue implementing the Party Politburo’s instruction and the Prime Minister’s decision on intensifying the fight against corruption, smuggling and trade fraud, and reported it will focus on research to help governmental agencies create a preventive mechanism and policies to limit these activities. — VNS