In recent times, the situation of corrupt officials quickly asking for using money to overcome consequences, before the court pronounces a sentence, has become extremely common.
Tran Van Hiep, Chairman of Lam Dong province’s People’s Committee, just one day after being arrested, quickly paid VND4.2 billion to “remediate the consequences.”
Or before that, in the Hac Thanh Tower case in Thanh Hoa, former Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Trinh Van Chien and former Chairman of Thanh Hoa provincial People’s Committee Nguyen Dinh Xu, each of them paid VND22.5 billions ($960,000).
Dinh Cam Van – former Director of Thanh Hoa Department of Finance – paid VND10 billion. In addition, the remaining defendants involved in the case in Thanh Hoa have also paid money to correct violations. The Thanh Hoa provincial Police Department said that the total amount of money to correct violations in this case is VND55.8 billion.
Public opinion is wondering and asking questions, with the average salary and allowances of a provincial leader, such as the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, not exceeding VND30 million /month, so where do they get the money of tens of billions so quickly?
And the answer is, those are the money that comes from corruption and bribery.
The fact that corrupt officials are lucky enough to pay money to “remediate the consequences” is a new and “creative” policy of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong. That is the policy, “If any officer has made a mistake and then voluntarily quits and voluntarily return the money, he or she will be exempt or lightly punished.”
This issue was also resolved by the Politburo and the Secretariat at the request of the General Secretary. That is Notice No. 20/BBT-TW, dated September 8, 2022, of the Politburo, allowing leaders from Central Committee members and above to commit corruption, but overcome 2/3 of the consequences that cause corruption, and proactively resign from their position, they will be exempt from criminal prosecution?
In addition, the request to pay compensation before the court pronounces a sentence, which is considered a factor that helps corrupt officials “lighten their crimes” was also resolved by the Party.
Specifically, Resolution No. 03 BBT -BCT/2020 on recovery of corrupt assets, effective from February 15, 2021, clearly stipulates:
“If the person committing the crime of embezzlement of property or accepting bribes, during the proceedings, actively surrenders at least three-quarters of the embezzled property or bribery… the highest penalty limit will not apply. The penalty that the offender is prosecuted and tried for, including the death penalty, will be reduced to life imprisonment.”
Meanwhile, current Vietnamese law still stipulates, “returning money and property obtained by the defendant who committed a crime is mandatory and cannot be used as a circumstance to reduce the sentence.”
Journalist Tran Thanh Canh had a status on his personal Facebook page, titled “When corrupt officials pay money, the crime is lightened,” exclaiming:
“A corrupt official accidentally exposed a case, was arrested and taken to court, and concluded that the investigation of that case caused damage to the XYZ state. The official then sends a message to tell his family to deduct the amount of money and pay it into the XYZ budget, called ‘remedial the consequences’! The court praises it for having ‘spirit’!
The party chief said, that’s it, we fight against corruption that is typical of Vietnam, very ‘humane’… So now, the unlucky official is unlucky and forced to pay a part of the sum he/she got in the entire career.”
Journalist Tran Thanh Canh concluded “State officials dont have to be panic. Continue your way of life. If you are caught, just spend sometime in prison and you will go out with a fortune to the rest of your life. If Vietnam is dealing with corruption like that, the situation will not be better and corruption will continue even more problematic.”
In the matter of preparing personnel for the Party Congresses in the 12th and 13th tenures, at that time, Mr. Nguyen Phu Trong – head of the Communist Party of Vietnam – in his position as Head of the Human Resources Subcommittee, repeatedly emphasized strongly: “Do not let into the Central Committee officials who declare their assets dishonestly, show signs of getting rich quickly, have many houses and real estate, and assets without origin.”
But the recent high-profile cases brought to trial are mostly “carefully and scientifically selected personnel, following the 3-5-7 step process” that Mr. Trong is still proud of.
The case of former Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee Le Duc Tho, who was recently probted and detained, has assets of up to VND3 trillion in bank deposits, and VND1 trillion in shares and investment stocks, is an example.
This shows that the level of wealth of the majority of Vietnam’s leading officials today is unimaginable. Just like, officials get rich quickly with many assets of unknown origin, but they openly reveal it in broad daylight, without being prosecuted.
Therefore, according to experts, the Vietnamese regime needs to strictly, correctly, and fully apply current laws. There must be life sentences, with absolutely no commutation, to increase deterrence. The law needs to be amended to confiscate all “illegal” property, when the owner cannot explain its origin, for confiscation.
Only then can we avoid the current situation of General Secretary Trong taking it upon himself to protect corrupt officials but harm the people./.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
