On the morning of October 30, the National Assembly discussed in groups the draft Resolution on piloting the handling of evidence and assets during the investigation, prosecution and trial of a number of criminal cases.

Giving his opinion at the Hanoi group, delegate Pham Duc An - Chairman of the Board of Members of Agribank said that the resolution should be passed in this session.

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Delegate Pham Duc An. Photo: Manh Thang

However, according to Mr. Pham Duc An, the scope of the resolution needs to be broader, not just limited to cases monitored by the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Negative Affairs.

Citing the case of Agribank handling the assets of a company with collateral worth about VND280 billion, Mr. An said that if the assets had been handled before, they could have been recovered immediately. But now, the interest debt has increased to more than VND300 billion and the assets are still frozen. The damage is not only to organizations and individuals but also to the State.

“If that amount of money were to be lent out, the income would be even greater. If the money were put into the treasury, it would cause harm to the victims and reduce the defendant’s ability to remedy the consequences. Because the money in the treasury does not increase, but the money in commercial banks, hundreds of billions, thousands of billions, would increase in just a few months,” Mr. An gave an example.

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Delegate Nguyen Huu Chinh - former Chief Justice of Hanoi People's Court. Photo: Phu Trong

Delegate Nguyen Huu Chinh (former Chief Justice of Hanoi People's Court) proposed to soon issue a resolution, because the current regulations are extremely inadequate, causing disadvantages for defendants and victims.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Chinh said that according to regulations, when initiating a case, the investigation agency has the right to freeze and seize assets. However, the final agency to handle these assets is the court, which takes a very long time, usually lasting 1-2 years, causing damage to evidence.

The former Chief Justice of the Hanoi People's Court cited the case involving former Director of Bach Mai Hospital Nguyen Quoc Anh, in which medical equipment worth 40 billion VND was frozen and seized. However, after the case was handled, no one dared to accept it and it was transferred to another hospital, so it had to be left unused.

"There are cases where machinery has been left for several years to become scrap metal," said Mr. Nguyen Huu Chinh, adding that the handling of corruption cases should not be limited to just cases but should be expanded in scope.

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Delegate Nguyen Hai Trung - Director of Hanoi City Police.

Regarding the same issue, delegate Nguyen Hai Trung (Director of Hanoi City Police) stated that the agency is currently managing a very large amount of property evidence, which is very wasteful, while some assets have lost value after being left for too long.

“If the vehicle owner doesn’t pay attention, it’s like abandoning it. It can’t be liquidated, so it has to be kept forever,” said Mr. Trung.

According to the Director of Hanoi City Police, the above problem causes waste such as depreciated assets and the need for a warehouse to store evidence. In addition, the arrangement of people to look after evidence also causes waste.

"The current situation is very difficult and inadequate, so issuing this document is necessary. However, the scope of regulation is too narrow, only cases and incidents that the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Waste monitors and directs," Mr. Trung said and suggested expanding the scope of this matter.

However, according to delegate Nguyen Phuong Thuy - Vice Chairman of the National Assembly's Law Committee, the scope of the pilot should not be expanded but should only focus on cases monitored and directed by the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Anti-Negative Affairs.

According to Ms. Thuy, we should not be perfectionist, nor hasty, but cautious. However, the pilot period can be flexible, not necessarily 3 years, and should be evaluated while implementing and combined with amending other laws.

Prevent early dispersal and transfer of assets

Prevent early dispersal and transfer of assets

On the morning of October 30, the National Assembly listened to Supreme People's Procuracy Chief Nguyen Huy Tien present a draft Resolution on piloting the handling of evidence and assets during the investigation, prosecution, and trial of a number of criminal cases.