The Government Inspector General said that four people were disciplined for dishonestly declaring assets and income.
In the first 6 months of 2024, there were 282,826 people declared their assets; 2,518 people had their declarations verified, and 4 people were disciplined for dishonestly declaring their assets and income.
In 2023, 16,351 people had their assets and income verified, 19 people were found to be dishonest in declaring their assets and income and were disciplined.
The figure is given as such, but there is much doubt about its accuracy.
On September 6, the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee held its 14th plenary session to give opinions and examine the 2024 anti-corruption work report. Deputy Chairman Nguyen Manh Cuong emphasized that the reality of handling recent corruption cases shows that many cases of officials only discovered large amounts of undeclared assets of unknown origin after being searched by the police.
According to the research team of the Judiciary Committee, the results of detecting and handling cases of dishonest declaration of assets and income are not yet commensurate with the actual situation.
These are objective comments. Just look at two recent high-profile cases and you will see that only when a case arises will the assets of officials and officials be revealed. For example, the case of Ms. Nguyen Thi Giang Huong, former Chairwoman of Nhon Trach District, Dong Nai Province, was disciplined for “false declaration of assets” after the case of being swindled out of 171 billion VND was revealed. The former Secretary of Ben Tre was also disciplined for false declaration of assets.
How many people declare their assets dishonestly is not an easy question to answer.
Another matter worth worrying about is that according to the 2024 anti-corruption work report sent to the National Assembly Standing Committee, there was a case in Khanh Hoa who returned a gift worth 3.6 million VND, that is Mr. Tran Van Phuong - Principal of Cam Nghia 2 Primary School, Cam Ranh city.
But this is not voluntary, but if discovered, must be paid into the state budget.
How can we honestly declare our assets and income when the money we accumulate comes from embezzlement, corruption, and bribery? Therefore, preventing corruption is to prevent corruption from happening, and declaring assets to fight corruption is just a supportive measure. There are regulations that are only for good people to comply with, while bad people cannot declare their violations.
People of integrity do not accept bribes or engage in corruption. They refuse bribes from the start, so why would they have to hand them over?
The Patek Philippe watch and Mercedes of former Ben Tre Secretary Le Duc Tho are just examples.
