Drop in corruption charges worries leaders

PM Nguyen Tan Dung promised that he will pave the way for relevant agencies to fight off corruption in the country.

The first 6 months of 2010 saw a significant drop in numbers of corruption cases detected, but it does not necessarily mean corruption has been effectively combated, the Central Steering Committee on Corruption Prevention and Control (CSCCPC) commented during the 13th session held yesterday on current anti-corruption work and results.

According to the Prosecutor General, Tran Quoc Vuong, only two major corruption cases have been raised and put on trial recently. Other cases have been minor and there have been very few corruption cases since the beginning of 2010.

PM Nguyen Tan Dung (left) during a break at the meeting.

However, the finding raised many concerns at the session that there was a weakened ability by relevant authorities to detect corruption cases. According to reports, about 10 provinces and cities did not uncover any corruption-related crimes in the first six months of 2010. In comparison with last year’s reports, the number of corruption cases has significantly dropped.

Many delegates felt that a drop in corruption cases didn’t equate to an improvement in corruption. Local people seem even more troubled that no case has recently been found.

The Head of the Steering Committee Vu Tien Chien shared that organisations and agencies progress in self-discovered corruption is still slow and little changes have been made.

One of the biggest limitations in effective prevention and control of corruption, as agreed by delegates, is that currently the settlement of a corruption case takes too much time. Currently it takes at least 12 months and could take up to 50 months for a corruption case to be filed, investigated and and then prosecuted.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung asked relevant agencies to focus on completing the prosecution and trial of all corruption cases that have been ongoing for too long, particularly serious and complicated cases.

The government chief also asked for strengthened anti-corruption resolutions in areas such as land management and use, basic construction, tax and organisational systems. He said that the government will provide a special budget for the judicial agencies to reward and encourage individuals in providing the government with any corruption-related information.

More supervisors for larger companies

Regarding management of state-owned groups and corporations, Vice Chairwoman of the Central Inspection Committee, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, pointed out that there are still many gaps regarding surveillance activities that continue to create favourable conditions for corruption to occur.

“A normal company would be checked up on by 2 or 3 supervisors from the government, but it seems illogical to have the same number of supervisors to keep track of a finance group that manages billions of dollars. How is that possible?” Chuyen asked. She also suggested that there needs to be a special monitoring mechanism for enterprises of this scale.

According to Chuyen, disciplinary actions given to the heads of these large corporations have been too lenient. Prosecutions against these people as suggested by inspection agencies and the State Audit have been taken too lightly.

Agreeing with this opinion, Vice General Auditor of State Audit, Hoang Hong Lac, cited that they had previously informed relevant agencies of 4 cases that show early signs of corruption. However, when they inquired whether the cases had been investigated or if charges had been filed, these agencies have yet been able to provide them with an answer.