HANOI: Vietnam police arrested the chairman of builder LDG Investment JSC for allegedly deceiving customers of a residential project that was reportedly launched without necessary permits.
Nguyen Khanh Hung (pic), chairman of LDG Investment, was held by police in Vietnam’s southern province of Dong Nai as part of an ongoing probe, according to a statement.
The arrest is the latest in a series of crackdowns on erring government officials and business executives since 2021 ordered by the nation’s Communist Party.
While the police statement didn’t specify how the company allegedly deceived clients, the Communist Party’s publication Nhan Dan reported that authorities hadn’t allocated or leased the land, they hadn’t allowed the change of land use and LGD wasn’t granted a construction permit for the project.
Three calls to the company’s headquarters in Ho Chi Minh City were unanswered.
The anti-graft campaign has rippled across the nation’s economy, leading to a dramatic slowdown in the bond market amid new regulations and a stalled real estate sector. Shares of LDG fell by the daily limit Friday after the arrest.
The provincial authorities started criminal proceedings against five former and current officials, including a head of a commune, in Trang Bom district where the project is located, according to the statement. - Bloomberg
