HÀ NỘI — The Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption held a national conference on corruption prevention in Hà Nội on Monday, chaired by General Secretary of the Communist Party of Việt Nam (CPV) Nguyễn Phú Trọng.

Addressing the event, the Party leader, who is also head of the committee, said the conference aims to review anti-corruption work since the Party’s 12th National Congress and define future plans and tasks.

Participants will also evaluate the performance of the committee over the past five years, pointing out its shortcomings, difficulties and weaknesses and sketching solutions to address them, he said.

The Party leader added that practical issues related to the strengthening of corruption prevention will be discussed.

“The long-term fight still faces many complicated challenges. I hope that after this conference, new and stronger, more drastic and effective changes will be made,” stated the Party chief.

According to a report delivered by Phan Đình Trạc, secretary of the Party Central Committee, head of the CPV Central Committee’s Commission for Internal Affairs and deputy head of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption, anti-corruption work has been implemented well, resulting in many achievements since the previous conference in 2014 and especially since the Party’s 12th National Congress in January 2016.

The results have been lauded by the community and recognised by international organisations, according to the report.

At the same time, many regulations and laws of the Party and States have been issued to strengthen the building of the Party and political system and to combat corruption.

Since 2014, disciplinary measures have been carried out on 840 Party organisations and 58,120 Party members, of whom 2,720 violated anti-corruption regulations.

Since the beginning of 2016, 490 Party organisations and 35,000 Party members have been punished, including 1,300 Party members involved in corruption.

Notably, 50 centrally-managed officials, including nine members or former members of the Party Central Committee, received disciplinary measures. Among them, Đinh La Thăng, a member of the Party Central Committee and former member of the Politburo, was expelled from the Party.

Over the years, many serious corruption and economic cases have been brought to light and handled in accordance with the law, with no exceptions.

Outstanding cases include those involving Vũ Quốc Hảo, Vũ Việt Hùng, Dương Chí Dũng, Huỳnh Thị Huyền Như, Nguyễn Đức Kiên, Lê Dũng, Châu Thị Thu Nga, Giang Kim Đạt, Trịnh Xuân Thanh, Phạm Công Danh, Hà Văn Thắm, Phan Văn Anh Vũ, Đinh Ngọc Hệ and the large-scale gambling case in Phú Thọ, which involves high-ranking police officials.

Agencies have provided information on the cases to the public and the media, thus promoting the role of the press in anti-corruption efforts.

The role of elected agencies, along with the Việt Nam Fatherland Front, political-social organisations and people has been optimised, while international cooperation in anti-corruption has been expanded, said the report.

Outcomes of anti-corruption work have helped purify the Party and State organisation and the political system, while reinforcing confidence of Party members and people, creating new momentum for the successful implementation of the Party National Congress’ resolution, the report added. — VNS