Vietnam arrests high-profile beverage executives as graft campaign widens

HANOI, April 11 (Bloomberg): Vietnamese police have arrested two more high profile business leaders as the country’s anti-corruption campaign continues to widen.

Tran Qui Thanh, founder and CEO of Tan Hiep Phat Beverage Group, and his daughter Tran Uyen Phuong were arrested Monday on charges of illegally appropriating property, according to a statement on the public security ministry’s website. The allegations relate to real estate projects in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Nai province.

Tan Hiep Phat, also known as THP locally, is the country’s leading homegrown beverage company. Specializing in bottled tea - the label outsells those from Coca-Cola and PepsiCo Inc. in the country - the company has been looking to expand sales in neighboring Southeast Asian countries after spending $500 million on three new factories in Vietnam in 2019.

Company representatives did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

The investigation into THP’s leadership is just the latest salvo in Vietnam’s expansive anti-graft crackdown which has caught-up hundreds of government officials and business executives since 2021.

After initially focusing on lower-level operatives, the ripples have spread right to the top with the recent resignation of the president and dismissal of two deputy prime ministers.

In the private sector there are a series of ongoing probes into allegations ranging from stock manipulation to bribery. Police in October last year detained Truong My Lan, chairwoman of real estate conglomerate Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, and other company officials, in connection with an investigation into illegal activities in corporate bond issuance. Neither Lan or Van Thinh have commented on their arrest.

The probes have jangled nerves in the country, with many business sectors from banking to property facing mounting setbacks. Real estate firm closures surged by nearly 40% last year while the country’s benchmark equities index was the world’s second-worst major gauge after Russia.

The World Bank forecasts Vietnam’s economic growth may slow to 6.3% this year from 8% last year, while the Asian Development Bank lowered its 2023 growth forecast on Vietnam as disbursement of public funds for health-care, parks, infrastructure and other spending has ground to a halt. - Bloomberg