Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc presents the First Class Victory Medal to the Minister of Public Security Tô Lâm. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has spoke highly of the Ministry of Public Security’s contributions to the fight against corruption of the whole country.

Addressing the conference to review corruption prevention and control work of the Ministry of Public Security on Wednesday, Phúc said the security force had played a key role in fighting against and investigating corruption cases.

According to Lieutenant General Lê Quý Vương, Deputy Minister of Public Security, since 2013 when the ministry’s steering committee on anti-corruption, thrift practice and combating wastefulness was established, the ministry has prosecuted 1,856 corruption cases and 4,072 offenders, retrieving nearly VNĐ19.5 trillion and more than 290,000sq.m of land.

The ministry has strictly imposed fines on serious and complicated corruption cases, including ones remaining unsolved for a long time, sticking to the motto of not giving any priority to any case. The crimes money laundering which was unsolved in the previous years have been investigated and prosecuted including the cases of Trần Văn Liêm, Giang Kim Đạt, Nhật Cường case and Alibaba Real Estate Group.

The ministry detected violations in the healthcare sector to issue warnings, including the illegal bidding of medical equipment at the Hà Nội Centre for Disease Control and inflating purchase price of medical equipment at Hà Nội’s Bạch Mai Hospital.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc asked the Ministry of Public Security to work closely with the Government Inspectorate and relevant agencies in finalising mechanisms on corruption and regulations in corruption management while building a national database on managing properties and incomes of former officials who used to hold positions.

PM Phúc praised the ministry for being the first sector to follow the anti-corruption orders issued by Party General Secretary and President Nguyễn Phú Trọng at the national conference on corruption prevention and control on December 12.

Highlighting that the Party and the State always attach importance to anti-corruption work, Phúc asked the ministry to accelerate the investigation progress of serious corruption cases that attract public concern, focusing on those who make fake drugs, evade tax, cause pollution and the cases covered by officials.

On this occasion, PM Phúc, who is also chairman of the Central Emulation and Reward Council, presented the First Class Victory Medal to the Ministry of Public Security. — VNS