National Assembly deputies discuss in groups about four draft amended laws. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn

HÀ NỘI — National Assembly (NA) deputies on Wednesday called for clearer and more effective measures to recover corrupt assets as they discussed the draft amended Law on Corruption Prevention and Control.

Deputy Lê Thu Hà from the northern province of Lào Cai agreed that amending and supplementing the law was necessary to institutionalise key Party guidelines, strengthen power control and prevent corruption early. However, after reviewing the dossier and the NA Law and Justice Committee’s verification report, she said the draft still focused mainly on technical adjustments while practical requirements demanded a reform-focused approach.

Regarding Articles 4, 45 and 51 of the current law, she noted that several major Party policies had not been fully reflected in the new draft, especially mechanisms to recover lost or misappropriated assets and to handle assets and incomes with unexplained origins.

These issues have been repeatedly raised and clearly concluded by the Politburo and the Central Steering Committee for Prevention and Control of Corruption, Wastefulness and Negative Phenomena, yet the amendment still lacks specific regulations.

Hà proposed adding the principle of handling and recovering corrupt assets without conviction procedures and assigning the Government to issue detailed regulations to ensure timely implementation of Politburo directives. She said responsibility of those holding positions and powers must be clearly stipulated as a legal obligation, not simply an administrative requirement.

She also suggested adding a new clause to Article 4 stating that the recovery of assets and income originating from corruption and negative acts should be conducted regardless of criminal liability, ensuring fairness, reasonableness and legal compliance. She said this was an important step to realise Politburo documents such as Directive 04-CT/TW and Regulation 287-QĐ/TW.

On the asset and income control agency under Article 30, Hà said it was necessary to develop an independent, professional control model linked to a national digitised database that connects tax, banking and land information. She noted that the division of authority between Party and State agencies remained overlapping and that further detailing the Party control agency in law would risk inconsistency in the legal system.

For the NA, she requested clearer authority for the Delegation Affairs Committee and the NA Office to avoid overlap or omission and ensure transparency within the highest power institution.

To ensure clarity and consistency with Resolution 71/2025/UBTVQH15, she suggested amending Clause 3 of Article 30 to specify that the Delegation Affairs Committee assists the Standing Committee in controlling assets and income of full-time deputies and persons under its management, while the NA Office controls those under its organisational structure and other NA agencies.

“This amendment helps clearly define and avoid overlap,” she said.

Regarding asset and income declaration, Deputy Hoàng Thị Đôi from the northern province of Sơn La said the draft added Clause 3 to Article 33 referring to civil servants being assessed based on asset declarations, but Article 34 of the current law did not list civil servants among those obliged to declare. She suggested adding them to ensure consistency.

Đôi also proposed amending and unifying Articles 36 and 40 so that persons obliged to declare must explain both increases and decreases in assets of VNĐ1 billion (US$37,900) or more, in line with Government Decree No 130/2020/NĐ-CP and the construction of the national database on asset and income control.

The draft raises the declaration threshold in Article 35 from VNĐ50 million ($1,800) to VNĐ150 million ($5,600). It also increases the annual fluctuation threshold for tracking and verification from VNĐ300 million to VNĐ1 billion. The drafting agency said this aligns with current socio-economic conditions and price levels compared with 2018 and ensures consistency with the updated declaration threshold. — VNS