Proposal to expand verification of assets of wives and children of prosecuted officials to prevent dissipation

At this morning's group discussion session on the draft Law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Law on Anti-Corruption, many National Assembly deputies raised concerns about the feasibility, rationality and implementation of the new regulations, especially those related to declaration, verification and recovery of assets.

According to delegate Hoang Van Cuong ( Hanoi delegation), it is necessary to consider the regulation that officials, party members, civil servants and public employees whose income increases by 1 billion VND in a year must declare additional assets and explain their origin.

“I think the regulation that assets increased by more than 1 billion must be verified is unnecessary. The most important thing is whether the declarant clearly explains the origin and has sufficient evidence. If there is an invoice or contract for the sale of the assets, there is no need to verify,” said delegate Cuong.

National Assembly Deputy Hoang Van Cuong (Hanoi delegation). Photo: Hoang Ha

The delegate said that verification should only be carried out when there are signs of dishonest declarations and complaints. If “every increase of 1 billion is verified”, it will waste resources in obvious cases. In particular, this can sometimes lead to people intentionally “hiding” legitimate assets.

Every year, instead of randomly drawing lots (a method of luck), verification should be done at a fixed rate of 20%/year. Rotate every 5 years, so that 100% of the staff are verified. At that time, verification becomes normal, no longer "suspected". In case of unusual signs, verification should be done immediately without waiting for your turn.

Notably, Mr. Cuong also proposed adding a new regulation to prevent the dissipation of corrupt assets, a major loophole in current enforcement practices.

“When an individual has been prosecuted for corruption, the investigation agency should be given the right to expand the verification of assets of all related people such as spouses, children, siblings, parents... Their unusual assets must be temporarily seized to ensure recovery,” he said.

According to the delegate, just adding such a regulation would increase the deterrent effect many times over because "there would be no way to disperse and then deny".

Declaration for enterprises with 50% state capital

Delegate Tran Cong Phan (HCMC delegation) focused on expanding the scope of asset declaration in the state-owned enterprise sector. This draft law adds the requirement to declare not only for 100% state-owned enterprises but also for enterprises with more than 50% state capital.

Delegate Tran Cong Phan (HCMC delegation). Photo: National Assembly

“I completely agree, because the current trend is equitization. There are not many 100% state-owned enterprises left, but the responsibility for capital management still belongs to the representative of the state capital, so they must declare their assets,” Mr. Phan said.

However, according to him, it is necessary to clarify whether foreigners holding the position of director at enterprises with more than 50% state capital are required to declare their assets or not.

“This needs to be done carefully and can be left to the Government to calculate,” he said. The delegate said that the confirmation of declarations between superiors and subordinates needs to be specifically regulated to avoid formalities.

Delegate Truong Trong Nghia (HCMC delegation) raised the issue of whether or not to include the Party's inspection agency in the Law on Anti-Corruption. According to the Constitution, Party organizations and Party members operate within the legal framework, so it is reasonable to stipulate that the Party's inspection agency has the right to inspect the assets and income of Party members.

However, according to him, to avoid overlap, it is necessary to clearly define the scope and objects of inspection.

“The inspection agency should focus on Party officials and members, especially those assigned to work in agencies outside the Party apparatus. There should be no overlap with the State’s inspection and supervision agencies,” Mr. Nghia said.

Delegate Truong Trong Nghia (HCMC delegation) spoke this morning. Photo: National Assembly

Mr. Nghia proposed not to apply asset declaration to shareholders and shareholder representatives of state-owned enterprises (enterprises with 50% or more state capital).

"If a state-owned enterprise hires a foreigner as a director, I think we should not force them to declare their assets. They still have to accept the provisions of the Anti-Corruption Law, but forcing them to declare all their assets, including assets abroad or those of their wives and children, like civil servants and public employees, I think it is very disadvantageous and they will not agree. That is a matter of privacy and personal rights," Mr. Nghia stated his opinion.

Delegate Truong Trong Nghia said that anti-corruption does not only rely on asset declaration but can use many other measures such as contract control, cash flow, or income monitoring. These are legal tools designed in the Enterprise Law and related regulations. “With current technology, we have enough measures to control negativity without invading privacy,” he said.

Vietnamnet.vn

Source: https://vietnamnet.vn/kien-nghi-mo-rong-xac-minh-tai-san-cua-vo-con-quan-chuc-bi-truy-to-ngan-tau-tan-2459608.html