HANOI — On Tuesday, a corruption trial involving 41 individuals, including government officials, commenced in Vietnam with a total value of $45 million. This marks another step in the country’s extensive anti-corruption efforts.
The anti-corruption drive known as the "burning furnace" campaign in this Southeast Asian nation has implicated numerous high-ranking officials, encompassing two former presidents and three ex-deputy prime ministers, along with leading entrepreneurs.
In the most recent development, a tribunal in Hanoi commenced hearings involving 30 ex-officials from the northern provinces of Vinh Phuc and Phu Tho as well as Quang Ngai in Central Vietnam.
Another eleven individuals—including businesspeople and corporate workers—are likewise charged with participating in corruption, which prosecutors claim resulted in damages exceeding 1.16 trillion Vietnamese Dong ($44.6 million) to the government.
They face multiple charges such as corruption, misuse of authority, and breaches of regulations concerning tenders and financial reporting.
According to prosecutors, from 2010 through 2024, Nguyen Van Hau, chairman of the Phuc Son Group, allegedly disbursed more than $5 million in bribes to secure deals in 14 large-scale infrastructure initiatives across three provinces.
They add that they transported suitcases filled with cash to the offices or private homes of the officials as bribes.
Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, who was previously the head of the party in Vinh Phuc, got the largest kickbacks from Hau, amounting to nearly $2 million, which were transported in suitcases as heavy as 60 kilograms.
In April, a former deputy minister of industry and trade in Vietnam was sentenced to six years in prison after being found guilty of "abuse of power" related to a solar energy development initiative.
Hoang Quoc Vuong, aged 62, confessed to accepting a bribe of $57,600 to benefit solar power plants located in the southern province of Ninh Thuan. However, prior to the sentencing, his family had reimbursed the money.