The Vietnamese government body responsible for combating corruption has proposed penalizing five high-ranking provincial leaders detained for accepting bribes, state media reported.
Vietnam is judged to have significant corruption by those holding political power in the one-party state. Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index for 2023 ranked Vietnam 83 out of 180 countries, putting it on the same level as Burkina Faso, Kosovo and South Africa.
On March 18, the Central Inspection Committee proposed disciplinary measures for two officials from Vinh Phuc province, in the north: Party Chief Hoang Thi Thuy Lan and Chairman of People’s Committee Le Duy Thanh.
It also proposed measures for three officials from Quang Ngai province in the central part of the country: Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee Dang Van Minh, Cao Khoa, former chairman of the Quang Ngai People’s Committee, and Ha Hoang Viet Phuong, director of the Dung Quat Economic Zone and Industrial Parks Management Board.
The measures followed a widening of an investigation into the case of “violating accounting regulations, causing serious consequences” involving Nguyen Van Hau, also known as Hau Phao, and his accomplices at Phuc Son Group Joint Stock Company, Thang Long Commercial and Real Estate Joint Stock Company, and related entities.
Based on the testimony of Hau, who was arrested in February, and others, the Investigation Police Agency decided to prosecute additional individuals on charges of receiving bribes; violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences; and taking advantage of influence on people in positions of power for personal gain. The crimes occurred in Vinh Phuc, Quang Ngai and Vinh Long provinces.
Others prosecuted were Ha Hoang Viet Phong; Pham Ngoc Thuy, deputy director of Quang Ngai’s Department of Transportation and former head of the department’s Technical and Quality Division; Le Quoc Dat, director of Quang Ngai’s Construction Investment Project Management Board and former head the province’s Investment Management Division of the Department of Transportation; and Pham Ngoc Cuong, deputy general director of the Phuc Son Group.
They were prosecuted for violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences under Article 222 of Vietnam’s Penal Code.
Dang Trung Hoanh, chief of staff of Mang Thit District’s People Committee in Vinh Long province, was prosecuted for “taking advantage of influence on people with positions and powers for personal gains” under Article 366 of the Penal Code.
On March 8, Dang Ngoc Minh, chairman of Quang Ngai People’s Committee, was arrested and prosecuted following the arrest and prosecution of Cao Khoa, the province’s former chairman, a day earlier. Both were charged with receiving bribes.
Translated by Anna Vu for RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Malcolm Foster.