A court on Friday sentenced 54 individuals, including a former deputy foreign minister and several senior diplomats, as reported by state media in one of Vietnam’s largest bribery cases. This comes amid an extensive crackdown on corruption in the country.
The convicted individuals were found guilty of participating in a scheme where diplomats and companies accepted money from Vietnamese citizens abroad who sought to return to the country on “rescue flights” during the COVID-19 pandemic when commercial flights were unavailable.
This trial represents a significant escalation in the government’s anti-graft campaign, during which numerous officials, including former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc and two deputy prime ministers, have faced investigations and forced resignations.
According to state-run newspaper VTC, 25 state officials among the convicted were found to have received bribes amounting to a total of 175 billion dong ($7.40 million).
Among those sentenced, former deputy foreign minister To Anh Dung received a 16-year prison term after being found guilty of taking 21.5 billion dong in bribes. Former Vietnamese ambassador to Japan, Vu Hong Nam, received a 30-month prison sentence, while former Vietnamese ambassador to Malaysia, Tran Viet Thai, was given a four-year jail term.
Pham Trung Kien, an assistant to a deputy minister of health, was handed a life sentence, with prosecutors having sought the death penalty for him due to his conviction of receiving over 42.6 billion dong in bribes.
The list of convicted individuals also includes officials from the government office, ministries of health, public security, transport, and others.
The trial, which began on July 11, concluded in just 18 days, 12 days shorter than initially scheduled.
