Chief Justice Le Minh Tri of the Supreme People's Court and Chief Prosecutor Nguyen Huy Tien of the Supreme People's Procuracy have revealed startling figures concerning asset recovery in economic and corruption cases in Vietnam.

788 defendants surrender over $26.1 million in stolen assets

Chief Justice Le Minh Tri reported that from October 1, 2023, to the end of September 2024, courts across Vietnam handled 5,514 economic, corruption, and embezzlement cases involving 12,948 defendants. Of these, 4,844 cases involving 10,376 defendants have been processed.

The courts took up 1,154 corruption cases with 3,201 defendants under preliminary procedures, of which 917 cases involving 2,418 defendants were adjudicated. Compared to the previous year, the number of corruption cases increased by 407, involving an additional 1,401 defendants. The number of adjudicated cases rose by 355, involving 1,211 defendants.

The courts sentenced 13 defendants to life imprisonment, while 93 received prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years. There were 366 defendants sentenced to between 7 and 15 years, 566 received terms of 3 to 7 years, and 712 were given sentences of up to 3 years. Other penalties were also imposed.

The courts emphasized seizing illicit assets, using measures such as freezing assets, enforcing legal remedies, and imposing additional penalties to ensure the recovery of state assets that had been misappropriated or lost.

Specifically, courts across Vietnam ordered the seizure of assets in 201 cases involving 1,011 defendants, recovering assets worth over $680 million. In 152 cases, 788 defendants voluntarily surrendered more than $26.1 million in stolen assets.

High-value asset recovery cases

Chief Prosecutor Nguyen Huy Tien highlighted the role of the prosecution sector, which handled 3,412 corruption and economic crime cases, processing and addressing 2,826 of them. Investigations led to the prosecution of 1,563 cases. The Supreme People's Procuracy investigated 78 cases involving 146 suspects accused of corruption in the judicial system.

Additionally, authorities recovered more than $4.8 billion through civil enforcement actions, achieving a recovery rate of 51.5%. Over $1.1 billion was secured during investigation, prosecution, and trial phases through various protective measures.

Furthermore, authorities seized, froze, or suspended transactions involving a wide range of assets, including 2,876 properties, over 2.2 billion shares, $7.8 million, 10 million Japanese yen, €63,900, 1,080 gold taels, 36 laptops, 43 cars, 2 oil tankers, over 1.28 million liters of diesel, 227,204 liters of gasoline, an ivory pair, two diamond rings, and one yacht.

The Supreme People's Procuracy collaborated closely with law enforcement in applying measures to recover assets in economic and corruption cases. Notable high-value recovery cases include:

- Tan Hoang Minh Case: Over $326 million recovered.

- Embezzlement at Van Thinh Phat Group and SCB Bank: Defendants voluntarily returned approximately $210.7 million.

- Mismanagement Leading to Asset Loss at Xuyen Viet Oil Company: Authorities seized 134 savings accounts worth $53.9 million.

The Supreme People's Procuracy continues to work closely with the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People's Court to ensure the strict and lawful handling of major economic and corruption cases.

Thu Hang