HCMC holds draw to select 25 officials for assets verification

Twenty-five officials in the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City have been selected from draws conducted by authorities for verification of their declared assets.

The draw was made at a meeting to launch the asset and income verification plan held by the municipal inspectorate late last month.

Those selected include 20 from the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Planning and Investment, District 5 People’s Committee, and Binh Chanh district People’s Committee (five each); three from the Urban Infrastructure Construction Projects Management Board; and two from Liksin Corporation.

According to Deputy Chief Inspector of HCMC Pham Van Nghi, the selected persons are those subject to asset and annual income declaration, with their declared assets and income yet to be verified for the past four years.

They are not being investigated or prosecuted, being treated for a serious illness, or studying or working abroad for at least 12 months. The municipal Inspectorate will perform the verification task in accordance with legal regulations, said Chief Inspector Dang Minh Dat.

Earlier, on October 5, the Government Inspectorate organized a draw to select 30 officials from seven ministries, agencies and state-owned corporations for asset verification.

They include eight from the Ministry of Planning and Investment, five from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, five from the Ministry of Construction, and three from the Commission for the Management of State Capital at Enterprises.

State-run chemical group Vinachem, State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC), and state-owned telecom giant VNPT have three officials selected each.

The verification is expected to be conducted this November and December. According to the Government’s Decree No. 130 dated October 30, 2020 on controlling assets and income of persons holding positions and powers in agencies and organizations, before January 31 every year, heads of asset and income control bodies will approve and issue annual verification plans.

The chief inspectors of provinces will issue annual verification plans after submitting to the chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees for approval.

Annual verification plans of asset control bodies must ensure that at least 20% of agencies and units under their management are subject to verification and at least 10% for the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

Within 10 days since the plan was issued, the asset control authority randomly selects verified persons. This is done publicly by draw or through computer software. The number of people selected must account for at least 10% of those obliged to make annual declarations in each verified agency, including at least one head or deputy head.