HANOI (Reuters): Vietnam's most powerful decision-making body reprimanded the labour minister on late Friday and warned others over their "violations and shortcomings", the government said amid a campaign to stamp out graft.
The rebuke came after the ruling Communist Party's Politburo held an unannounced meeting in Hanoi, the government said in a statement, after hundreds of senior officials and high-profile corporate executives have been prosecuted in the campaign.
Dao Ngoc Dung, 61, violated the party's rules and failed to prevent violations by individuals and bodies under his leadership, it said.
This led to "risks of huge losses to the state budget, causing serious consequences that are difficult to fix, lead to negative public opinion, and affect the reputation of the party and the Ministry of Labour," it added.
The infringements related to some education and vocational projects the ministry awarded to domestic contractor AIC, formally known as Advanced International Joint Stock Co., it added, without elaborating.
Dung has been labour minister since 2016. The ministry did not immediately respond to Reuters' request for comment.
On Friday, the Politburo also issued warnings to Dung's predecessor, Pham Thi Hai Chuyen, and a former labour deputy minister for violating party rules, and expelled several high-ranking provincial officials of the party.
(Reporting by Khanh Vu; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) - Reuters
