Lao inspectors uncover more than $216M lost to corruption incidents
Laos’ State Inspection Authority (SIA) has discovered that more than 2.24 trillion kip ($216 million) has been lost in incidents involving corruption, following investigations conducted over the past year.
The authority said a huge amount of money had been misappropriated, consisting of 1.86 trillion kip, $24.88 million and 384.81 million Thai baht ($11.6 million).
State inspectors investigated 39 targets, especially state-funded development projects, SIA president Dr Khamphanh Phommathat told the National Assembly on November 5.
Of the total lost to corrupt officials who embezzled state assets, authorities have so far retrieved 331.71 billion kip and have pledged to recover the remaining 1.9 trillion kip.
Dr Khamphanh outlined the challenges to recouping money pocketed by corrupt officials, saying most had been spent or concealed.
Asia News Network
