The Government Inspectorate (GI) is proposing imposing more stringent asset penalties for and the consideration of the responsibility of legal entities involved in corrupt acts to enhance deterrence to corruption and accord with international practices, an official has said.

The trial of six former railway officials taking bribes from the JTC

At a press conference in Hanoi on October 29, Deputy Director General of the GI’s Anti-Corruption Bureau Ngo Manh Hung delineated that with regard to offenders fleeing across borders, many countries are refusing to extradite criminals to nations which maintain the death penalty.

Therefore, the abrogation of capital punishment for corruption criminals could make it easier for Vietnam to track down and extradite violators, he noted, adding that the move is also in line with global practices.

He noted the abolition of the death sentence may represent a lesser preclusion to the crime, stressing the need to supplement other penalties to boost deterrence.

The GI reported that it uncovered four corruption cases involving four individuals and 297 million VND (13,305 USD) during the three-month period through September.

Meanwhile, police enquired into 174 cases involving 442 individuals with alleged corruption and proposed prosecution charges against 50 cases involving 168 persons.

In the third quarter, the inspection sector conducted 2,347 administrative inspections and 51,378 specialised inspections and examinations nationwide, detecting violations involving nearly 5.44 trillion VND (243.7 million USD) and 4,363 hectares of land.

It proposed administrative settlements for 474 collectives and issued 43,558 decisions on administrative punishments for offending organisations and individuals with total fines of almost 1.25 trillion VND (56 million USD).

Inspectors also passed 16 cases involving 10 individuals to criminal investigation agencies and reclaimed nearly 1.06 trillion VND (47.49 million USD) or 63.5 percent of the 1.66 trillion VND (74.37 million USD) set to be recovered, the GI added.

Source: VNA