As such, Vietnam scored 35 out of 100 points and ranks 107th of the 180 countries and regions, 2 ranks higher than in 2016 and 4 higher than in 2015.
Vietnam has improved its rank in the CPI 2017.
|
2017 was a successful year for Vietnam in the fight against corruption, stated Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong during the 13th session of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption on January 22 to review the progress made in 2017 and plans for 2018.
"Significant progress has been made and the initiative was widely supported by the people. The fight against corruption has become a movement that has built public trust," Trong added.
On the other hand, the government has issued new regulations with regards to inspection, decentralization, as well as the appointment and transferring of public officials with an aim to prevent and tackle cases of violation and corruption.
In 2017, anti-corruption authorities brought 12 cases with 172 suspects, 73 of whom were convicted. The most serious cases drew three death sentences and three life sentences. Authorities also managed to complete investigation into 16 more cases involving 216 suspects, informed the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption.
From the very beginning of 2018 a lot of major cases have gone on trial, such as Pham Cong Danh, ex-Chairman of Vietnam Construction Bank and his associates (Phase II of Second hearing); Dinh La Thang, former Politburo member and Chairman of Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PVN), and his associates at PVN; PVN's affiliates PVC and PVP Land; the losses resulting from PVN's investment in Oceanbank; or the recent arrest of Phan Van Anh Vu, indicating Vietnam's strong resolution to leave no stone unturned in the fight against corruption.
In the most high profile corruption crackdown in recent years, 22 defendants who are current and former senior officials at PVN, including Dinh La Thang, are facing severe punishment for violating State regulations on economic management causing serious consequences.
"The prosecution of serious economic violations and corruption has been accelerated to ensure compliance with the law, regardless of violators being current or former high-profile officials," Trong said in an interview with Vietnam News Agency.
The CPI which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and businesspeople. It uses a scale of 0-100, where zero is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean. This year, the index found that more than two-thirds of countries score below 50, with an average score of 43.
In 2017, New Zealand and Denmark ranked the highest with scores of 89 and 88, respectively. Syria, South Sudan, and Somalia ranked the lowest with 14, 12, and 9, respectively. The best performing region was Western Europe with an average score of 66. The worst performing regions are Sub-Saharan Africa (average score 32), and Eastern Europe and Central Asia (average score 34).
