At a meeting of the Standing Board of the Central Steering Committee on the Prevention and Control of Corruption and Negative Phenomena, held on November 22 and chaired by Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, who is also Head of the Committee, discussions were focused on results from the settlement of corruption cases under the watch of the Central Steering Committee, and especially on the responsibility of organizations and individuals for making policies relating to corruption cases in sectors such as banking and finance, public assets, valuation, securities, and corporate bonds.

Addressing the meeting, the Party Chief emphasized the need to continue the fight against corruption and negative phenomenon by studying laws, mechanisms, and policies to carry out appropriate and effective measures.

He requested the verification and settlement of ten cases, the issuance of indictments prosecution of defendants in five others, the conduct of first instance trials for seven others, and appeal trials for three others.

The Party Chief asked central-level litigation agencies to strengthen inspections and promptly direct and guide local authorities on removing difficulties and obstacles in investigating and handling corruption cases, especially those under the watch of the Central Steering Committee.

He also stressed the need to identify solutions to quicken the slow settlement of corruption cases and to improve the effectiveness of coordination between agencies in the anti-corruption fight.

At the meeting, the Steering Committee’s Standing Board requested Party Committees, Party organizations, and relevant agencies to continue promoting the prevention and control of corruption and negative phenomenon, with a focus on fully handling serious and complicated cases drawing public concern, particularly those at the Viet A Company, and the AIC Company, and the FLC, Tan Hoang Minh, and Van Thinh Phat Groups.

Since its 23rd meeting in January, the Steering Committee has monitored and given directions on 68 cases.

Criminal proceedings have been launched against 45 individuals in 12 new cases and 238 others in 23 cases under investigation. First-instance trials were opened for 194 defendants in 13 cases, while 82 defendants in 13 other cases were tried on appeal.

Since the 24th meeting of the Steering Committee in August, nine individuals have reportedly been involved in three newly-discovered cases, and 95 additional persons have been investigated in 12 cases. First-instance trials started for 38 defendants in two cases, and eleven other defendants were tried on appeal in five cases.

Authorities have proactively uncovered, fiercely fought, expanded investigations, and prosecuted many new defendants in serious corruption cases involving ministries, sectors, and localities. These are both inside and outside of the State sector and have caused public outrage, such as those at the Van Thinh Phat Group, the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank (SCB), the Viet A Company, the FLC Group, and Sai Gon Co.op.

In particular, the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission conducted nine inspections of Party organizations and Party members with signs of violations relating to cases being monitored and directed by the Steering Committee; and other inspections on 76 Party organizations related to the FLC, Van Thinh Phat, and AIC cases. As a result, three inspections have been completed, with 26 Party organizations and 57 Party members disciplined.

So far this year, ministries, sectors, and localities have transferred 480 cases showing signs of criminal activity discovered during the process of inspection, supervision, and audit to investigative agencies for further investigation.

Meanwhile, relevant agencies have temporarily seized assets, frozen accounts, and prevented transactions totaling over VND232 trillion ($9.6 billion) and many other assets of value.

Civil judgment enforcement agencies have recovered over VND9 trillion ($370 million), lifting the total funds recovered in cases under the supervision and direction of the Steering Committee to VND75.8 trillion (more than $3.12 billion).