Inspection Authorities in Laos Discover Trillions in Corruption Losses

[ASEAN NOW]

 

This year, Laos' State Audit Organization and State Inspection Authority discovered enormous losses totaling over LAK 1.5 trillion and USD 147,387.

According to sources in the Socio-Economic Newspaper, the two inspection authorities recently declared that they had identified corruption-related losses reaching trillions of kip this year.

 

Authorities were able to retrieve around LAK 32 billion, USD 116,896, and 19 plots of land during their investigation.

 

The State Inspection Authority announced that it had examined 24 suspects, 16 of them were government officials, and discovered losses totaling LAK 208 billion, Baht 331 million, and USD 14.3 million.

 

A total of 191 state investment projects worth over LAK 2 trillion were also probed, with 50 projects going missing, resulting in a loss of LAK 520 billion.

 

Authorities also confiscated 290 tons of illegal timber and arrested 25 persons for logging violations, while the State Audit Organization investigated 2,788 unlawfully built timber processing businesses, shutting down 1,636 of them.

 

In 2020, Laos was ranked third most corrupt country in the ASEAN region, after Myanmar and Cambodia, however the country's standing has improved by eight points from 2012.