Early this year, the police issued an international wanted notice against Tran Anh Tuan, former chief of the Finance and Administration Department of the Ministry of Finance for “swindling and appropriating assets” of some organizations and individuals, totaling up to VND80 billion (around $4 million).
Local newspapers used the word “former”, which may be open for misunderstanding that Tuan committed embezzlement when he did not longer work at the Ministry of Finance. Embezzlement is the right word for Tuan’s act because this man took advantage of his position to swindle and appropriate money of businessmen, who believed that Tuan could help them take State-owned projects.
Specifically, in July 2011, Tuan suggested Tran Duc Duong, director of a company in the northern port city of Hai Phong, to solicit for the right to build the Hung Vuong University in Phu Tho province, which is worth millions of USD in investment capital.
Tuan claimed VND5 billion ($250,000) from Duong, saying that this amount of money would be used to bribe some officials to solicit the right to develop the above project. Duong gave Tuan VND1.5 billion ($75,000).
With the same trick, Tuan received VND1.2 billion ($60,000) from a company based on Hang Ma Street, Hanoi, also to “get the Hung Vuong University construction project.”
However, the total amount of money that Tuan took from other organizations and individuals was up to VND75 billion. Victims cannot take back the money because Tuan fled overseas in November 2011.
For officials like Tuan, they will be considered as swindlers if they cannot get projects and if they can, they are said to be successful in “selling right of project implementation”. As the vice chief of an important department of the Ministry of Finance, Tuan could exert his influence, bribe and solicit… officials of other departments in the ministry.
This case is an alarm bell for corruption in state agencies, although anti-corruption agencies like the Central Steering Board for Anti-Corruption and the Government Inspectorate have implemented many new measures: asking officials to make personal asset declaration and make public their assets, inspecting responsibility of individuals in anti-corruption task at their agencies, rotating civil servants, etc.
There are no official statistics about the yearly number of officials who are detected to commit corruption. The amount of money they take though the Government Inspectorate holds quarterly press conferences to make public inspection results.
In reports of ministries and agencies, released at the dialogue on anti-corruption in late 2011, these agencies announced that they performed dozens of inspections but they did not point out corrupters and the level of corruption in their agencies.
At judicial agencies, the number of corruption cases is quite clearer. According to the latest report of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, a total of 1,406 corruption cases, with 3,035 defendants were prosecuted from 2007 to 2011. On average, around 280 cases with 600 defendants were prosecuted.
In 2010, the number of prosecuted corruption cases in the January-September period reduced by 23 percent, with 188 cases and 373 defendants. From October 2010 to the end of September 2011, 220 cases with 449 defendants were prosecuted. There is no more statistics since then.
Many cases with clear evidences of corruption, which were often detected by police, are not called corruption cases.
Before the case of Tran Anh Tuan, Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang was reported to abuse his influence to “borrow” over VND2 billion ($100,000) from BV Pharma Company. Though Quang had to pay interest, the interest rate was much lower than the market interest rate at that time. When the case was brought to light, Quang was also detected to use faked doctoral degree.
The Central Inspection Committee recently punished him by giving him a warning and asking his agency to impose administrative fines on him.
A senior expert at the Ministry of Planning and Investment told the author of this article: “What is anti-corruption? They are very clever. They only do things that have smell of money. It is not for nothing that they bribe for positions that can make money like granting license, approving projects, etc.”
At the dialogue on anti-corruption in late 2011, low wages was mentioned as one of the reasons that cause corruption.
According to several surveys, the current wages is only enough for employees of stage agencies to live normally in one week. As a result, they have to “seek” ways to live in the remaining three weeks.
Some of them can learn extra money from writing reports, joining research groups, etc. Employees of auditing, inspection agencies are paid extra income which are considered as “integrity fostering” money. But those who are at positions where they cannot do extra work, or at “sensitive positions” (granting licenses and registration, etc.,) corruption and embezzlement is more clear and popular.
Though low wages is only one of the reasons that urge state employees to commit corruption, but the wage policy is a hindrance for effort in fighting corruption at state agencies.
Nguyen Ha
Business & Investment Opportunities
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