
Vietnam jails 30 people for graft worth US$45 million
The communist nation's crackdown on corruption in recent years has seen two presidents and three deputy prime ministers deposed and top business leaders taken down.
On Friday, state media said a Hanoi court announced verdicts for 30 former officials and 11 businesspeople charged with bribery, abuse of power and violating bidding and contracting laws.
Thirty of the 41 were convicted of corruption that prosecutors say caused damages worth more than 1.16 trillion dong (US$44.6 million) to the state, Public Security News said.
The bribes themselves totalled far less.
Prosecutors said that between 2010 and 2024, chairman of the Phuc Son Group, Nguyen Van Hau, spent over US$5 million bribing officials to win contracts in over a dozen multi-billion-dollar infrastructure projects in three provinces.
Hau brought suitcases of cash to other defendants' offices or private residences for the bribes, prosecutors say.
For that and other violations he was handed 30 years in prison.
Former party chief of Vinh Phuc province Hoang Thi Thuy Lan was given 14 years behind bars for taking the biggest bribes - almost US$2 million in suitcases weighing up to 60kg.
"I recognise my mistakes and my crime and fully accept the indictment," Lan told the court.
"I would like to ask the court to reduce sentences for my comrades in the most humanitarian manner," she said.
According to lawyers, Hau and his group paid over US$45 million as compensation for the damages in the case.
In April, Vietnam jailed former deputy minister of industry and trade Hoang Quoc Vuong for six years after finding him guilty of "power abuse" in a solar energy development plan.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNA
4 hours ago
- CNA
Vietnam bus crash kills 10 passengers, including two children
HANOI: Ten people, including two children, were killed early Friday (Jul 25) when an overnight sleeper bus crashed in central Vietnam, the government said. The bus, which was travelling from Hanoi to the central city of Da Nang, veered off the national highway, struck roadside markers and overturned, according to a government statement. All of the deceased were Vietnamese. Another 12 passengers were injured and taken to hospital. State media reported that five of those killed were domestic tourists headed to Da Nang for a holiday. 'The bus overturned... I couldn't sit up as my body and my hands were smashed into the side of the bed,' a passenger told the Dan Tri news site. The passenger said several of the victims had been in the front bunks and "suffered from the strong impact". Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has called for an investigation into the crash. The incident comes just a week after a tourist boat capsized in UNESCO-listed Ha Long Bay, killing 38 Vietnamese passengers and crew. Only 10 people survived. Rescuers are still searching for one person who remains missing.


CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
'Vape bins' to be placed across Singapore; no penalties for surrendering devices
Singapore has unveiled a new national campaign to encourage vape users to surrender their devices "Bin the Vape" lets users safely dispose of their devices at 24 bins across the island. The Health Ministry said those who come forward to bin their vapes, or voluntarily seek support for quitting, will not face any penalties for doing so. One in three vapes seized in Singapore contains etomidate, an anaesthetic agent that will soon be classified as a Class C drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act. Offences related to it carry up to 20 years' jail and caning. Aslam Shah reports.


CNA
7 hours ago
- CNA
Thailand's foreign ministry spokesman on whether there can be a ceasefire with Cambodia yet
Scroll up for the next video X Thailand's foreign ministry spokesman on whether there can be a ceasefire with Cambodia yet