Bank Case Reveals Vietnam’s Continued Corruption Problems

 

The Vietnamese Ministry¹ of Public Security recently began investigating three companies under the state-owned gas and oil group PetroVietnam. The companies may have tried to divert more than $5 million from a Vietnamese financial institution called OceanBank.

The case has brought attention to Vietnam’s continued problems with corruption², as the country experiences economic growth.

Frederick Burke is a lawyer with the firm Baker³ McKenzie in Ho Chi Minh City. He said, “In terms of corruption in Vietnam, I do think it’s a serious problem here and I think the government recognizes that.”

Experts say corruption could affect the country’s continued economic growth. Vietnam’s economy grew at least 5 percent each year between 2012 and 2016. Export manufacturing has been a main driver of the growth.

The nonprofit group Transparency International placed Vietnam at 113th out of 176 countries and areas that it studied in 2016 for perceptions of corruption. Most countries in the Asia-Pacific area placed in the lower half of the index.

The New York-based group Gan Integrity calls corruption “pervasive⁴” -- or everywhere -- in Vietnam. It says companies are likely to face bribery⁵, political interference and “facilitation payments” in many industries, especially in the fields of land development and construction.

Reasons for the corruption

Low salaries for government workers are one of the causes for corruption, said Trung Nguyen. He is the international relations dean at Ho Chi Minh University of Social Sciences and Humanities.

Complex rules have also led companies to seek permitting shortcuts⁸, another source of corruption, Nguyen said.

People with money or property sometimes hold back expansion to avoid getting involved in graft⁹ -- a dishonest activity in which people in power use their position to get money and advantages.

Nguyen said that Vietnamese may face graft when they ask government offices for documents or when police stop them in traffic. Such actions reduce citizens’ trust in government services.

“I think it’s very bad,” Nguyen said. “I have so many friends and they don’t want to open big businesses in Vietnam because they think that they will have to deal with the government, and they have to bribe⁶ them, and it violates their ethics¹⁰ and their principles.”

PetroVietnam probe

The PetroVietnam case is part of a bigger issue at OceanBank, according to VNExpress. The English-language news website says more than 50,000 people and 400 organizations benefited from what lawyers call illegal interest payments totaling more than $70 million.

From 2010 to 2014, bank officials offered loans and set deposit rates above state-approved limits to some important customers, local media have reported. This included PetroVietnam.

VnExpress calls the case one of the biggest bank fraud problems ever brought to court in Vietnam.

Anti-corruption efforts

The government has tried to reduce corruption. In October 2016, the government gave an unusually honest report to the legislature, saying several officials had been “neglecting their duties and failing to uphold moral standards and political virtues,” VnExpress reported.

But Transparency International says it sees little public information about the results of anti-corruption efforts.

Nguyen says he does not feel that Vietnam’s top leaders are, in his words, “united in stopping the problem. I don’t think they have political will to end corruption.”

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Words in This Story

divert - v. to change the direction or use of (something)

perception - n. the way you think about or understand someone or something

index - n. ?an ordered list

pervasive - adj. ? existing in every part of something : spreading to all parts of something

bribery - n. ?the act or crime of giving or accepting a bribe.

bribe - v. something valuable (such as money) that is given in order to get someone to do something

dean - n. ?a person who is in charge of one of the parts of a university (such as a college or school)

shortcut⁷ - n. ?a quicker or easier way to do something

graft - n. ?dishonest activity in which people with power (such as political leaders) use their position and influence to get money and advantages

benefit - v. ?to be useful or helpful to (someone or something)

fraud - n. ?the crime of using dishonest methods to take something valuable from another person

1 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 baker   

n.面包师

参考例句：

• The baker bakes his bread in the bakery.面包师在面包房内烤面包。
• The baker frosted the cake with a mixture of sugar and whites of eggs.面包师在蛋糕上撒了一层白糖和蛋清的混合料。

4 pervasive   

adj.普遍的；遍布的，(到处)弥漫的；渗透性的

参考例句：

• It is the most pervasive compound on earth.它是地球上最普遍的化合物。
• The adverse health effects of car exhaust are pervasive and difficult to measure.汽车尾气对人类健康所构成的有害影响是普遍的，并且难以估算。

5 bribery   

n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿

参考例句：

• FBI found out that the senator committed bribery.美国联邦调查局查明这个参议员有受贿行为。
• He was charged with bribery.他被指控受贿。

6 bribe   

n.贿赂；v.向…行贿，买通

参考例句：

• He tried to bribe the policeman not to arrest him.他企图贿赂警察不逮捕他。
• He resolutely refused their bribe.他坚决不接受他们的贿赂。

7 shortcut   

n.近路，捷径

参考例句：

• He was always looking for a shortcut to fame and fortune.他总是在找成名发财的捷径。
• If you take the shortcut,it will be two li closer.走抄道去要近2里路。

8 shortcuts   

n.捷径( shortcut的名词复数 )；近路；快捷办法；被切短的东西（尤指烟草）

参考例句：

• In other words, experts want shortcuts to everything. 换句话说，专家需要所有的快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Offer shortcuts from the Help menu. 在帮助菜单中提供快捷方式。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

9 graft   

n.移植，嫁接，艰苦工作，贪污；v.移植，嫁接

参考例句：

• I am having a skin graft on my arm soon.我马上就要接受手臂的皮肤移植手术。
• The minister became rich through graft.这位部长透过贪污受贿致富。

10 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。