"Mandatory Notification of Government Subsidy Fraud Investigation Results"... Legislative Amendment Passed by the Political Affairs Committee

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] The Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced on the 29th that a bill mandating investigative agencies to notify administrative authorities when they fail to recover public finance fraud funds due to the authorities' unawareness has passed the National Assembly's Judiciary Committee.

According to the Commission, from now on, investigative agencies must obligatorily inform administrative authorities when they investigate cases related to fraudulent claims of public funds and decide to prosecute or suspend prosecution.

The Public Finance Recovery Act, which came into effect on January 1 last year, allows for ▲ recovery of illicit gains ▲ imposition of penalties up to five times the illicit gains ▲ disclosure of the names of high-amount fraudulent claimants when money or goods such as subsidies, compensations, or grants are fraudulently claimed without consideration.

However, it was revealed during an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection in February last year that 10 institutions, including City A, had not been notified of the investigation results of 18 cases violating the Subsidy Act and thus had not recovered the subsidies.

According to the Commission, about 53,000 cases of fraudulent claims last year resulted in the recovery of 45.3 billion KRW. The Commission expects that the passage of the bill will significantly reduce fraudulent claims in public institutions.

Kim Giseon, Director of the Commission's Review and Protection Bureau, said, "Once the bill is finally passed by the National Assembly, the blind spots in recovering fraudulent public finance claims can be eliminated," adding, "We will do our best to ensure it passes the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the plenary session promptly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.