Le Thi Thu Hang was responding to a request for comments on a January report by Washington DC-based think tank Global Financial Integrity, which said Vietnam tops the list of countries ranked by dollar value of illicit inflows in the 2006-2015 period at $22.5 billion.

For the last several years, Vietnam has implemented many methods to build and complete legal frameworks, to apply international standards and abide by international recommendations and commitments to stop money laundering, Hang said at a press meeting.

The Vietnamese government is clearly aware of the negative impacts of this phenomenon on the society and economy, she added.

The country has the requisite legal framework to combat money laundering now, Hang said, noting that the activity was outlawed and punishable in accordance to the Vietnamese penal code.

The National Assembly had specifically issued an anti-money laundering law in 2012 and the government had also established a steering committee on anti-money laundering, apart from issuing several legal documents to execute anti-money laundering laws and punish violations, the spokeswoman added.

In May this year, Vietnam had issued an action plan to resolve money laundering and terrorism financing risks in the 2019-2020 period, thereby enhancing efforts to combat money laundering, applying international standards and customs

"Vietnam is also completing its finance-banking system, modernizing its infrastructure, technologies and honing management skills to combat money laundering crimes."

The country values international cooperation to combat transnational money laundering crimes as a member of the Asia/Pacific Group On Money Laundering and an observer of the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units, Hang added.