Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng on Thursday chaired a meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negative Phenomena Prevention and Control. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Party General Secretary Nguyễn Phú Trọng on Thursday asked agencies to step up the investigation, prosecution and trials of cases that were suspected to violate the law, drawing attention from the public.

Chairing the meeting of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negative Phenomena Prevention and Control on Thursday, Trọng asked relevant agencies to focus on solving difficulties and obstacles, speeding up the verification, investigation, and strictly handling violations in specific cases including violations in the medical field or those relating to land management, State property management and use in Bình Dương, Khánh Hòa and HCM City.

He also mentioned the case of “Giving bribes, accepting bribes; Smuggling, manufacturing and trading in fake goods”, which occurred in Đồng Nai and other provinces and cities as well as the case at several units under the Command of the Coast Guard and Border Guard.

He asked for first-instance trials for major cases including "Violations on construction investment, causing serious consequences" at the Đà Nẵng – Quảng Ngãi Expressway Project; "Violations on bidding, causing serious consequences" at Hà Nội Department of Planning and Investment; and the “Violation on management and use of State assets, causing loss and waste, property embezzlement, lack of responsibility causing serious consequences” at Sài Gòn Agriculture Corporation.

At the meeting, the Standing Committee of the committee agreed to oversee the handling of negative behaviour of officials and party members involved in several cases.

Trọng, who is head of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negative Phenomena Prevention and Control, said that in its name, the committee had the additional task of preventing and controlling negative phenomena.

The Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control was renamed the Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negative Phenomena Prevention and Control in September this year.

“Negative phenomena has a very general meaning but here, it is mostly about the degradation of political thought, morality and lifestyle among officials, Party members, civil servants, leaders, and managers of all-level organisations in the political system throughout the country. Those are the root of corruption,” he said.

“Without the degradation, there is no corruption. With good morality, there is no corruption,” he said.

The Party leader said that it was necessary to create a new spirit and new determination in the fight against corruption and negativity; resolutely prevent, detect and strictly handle corrupt and negative acts, particularly the deterioration in political ideology, morality, and lifestyle among cadres, party members, State officials and civil servants.

He said that as an agency preventing and combating corruption and negativity, the members of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption and Negative Phenomena Prevention and Control must be truly exemplary, like "the sword and shield".

“The sword must be sharp, the shield must be strong, but the mind must be clear and the morality must be good. They must be fair, objective, transparent, impartial, master laws but handle any cases reasonably,” he said.

Since the 19th meeting of the Steering Committee in January 2021, inspectors and auditors sent more than 270 files of cases with criminal signs to the investigating agency for investigation and handling according to regulations, more than four times higher than the same period in previous years, when there was no mechanism for sectors to jointly handle violations.

Agencies nationwide have prosecuted and investigated 2,130 cases with 4,084 accused, prosecuted 2,024 cases with 4,056 defendants, held first instance trials for 1,898 cases with 3,471 defendants for crimes of corruption, related to their position or the economy.

Of those, 266 cases and 646 accused were prosecuted and investigated for corruption. The agencies launched criminal proceedings in 250 cases with 643 defendants; and first-instance trials for 214 cases with 525 defendants. Particularly for cases under the monitoring and supervision of the Steering Committee, there were eight new cases with 38 defendants prosecuted, while an additional 78 defendants were prosecuted in 14 cases.

Investigations were completed in 13 cases with 123 accused. Four cases with 52 defendants required further investigation while 15 cases with 151 defendants received indictments to prosecute.

Fifteen cases with 86 defendants went to first-instance trials and nine cases with 40 defendants went to appeal courts.

The prosecuting agencies temporarily seized, distrained and blocked accounts, and prevented transactions of assets worth more than VNĐ1.75 trillion (US$77.3 million), while civil judgment enforcement agencies have recovered more than VNĐ9 trillion. — VNS