HANOI (Bloomberg): A Vietnam court sentenced 41 people, including multiple former senior officials, in a US$45 million corruption case tied to a property company’s operations in three Vietnamese provinces.
Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, a former senior provincial party official in what was previously Vinh Phuc province, was sentenced to 14 years in jail for taking bribes to give preferential treatment to Phuc Son Group property firm when bidding for projects in the province, Tuoi Tre newspaper reported on its website, citing information from the court.
The chairman of Phuc Son Group, Nguyen Van Hau, was sentenced to 30 years in jail for bribery, violating accounting and bidding regulations, news website Vietnamnet reported.
Hau was accused of paying bribes of more than 132 billion dong (US$5.1 million) to officials between 2010 and 2023, helping him to rake in over 1.16 trillion dong in illicit gains, according to a separate report. He admitted to the charges in court, the report said.
Nearly 30 other former officials were given sentences ranging from 2 years to 12 years for charges including receiving bribes and abuse of power, with some given suspended sentences, news website VnExpress reported.
Representatives of Phuc Son Group were not immediately available for comment.
Hundreds of government officials and business executives have been caught up in the Communist Party’s years-long anti-corruption campaign, which has been portrayed as part of Vietnam’s attempts to bolster its appeal as a destination for foreign investment amid global tensions.
Last month, Vietnam’s parliament abolished the death penalty for eight crimes, including bribery and embezzlement, paving the way for death row inmates such as real estate tycoon Truong My Lan, who was convicted in the country’s largest-ever fraud case, to be spared execution.
Hau, Lan and several other ex-officials were arrested last year in an investigation into violations at property firms Phuc Son Group and Thang Long Property Co. Phuc Son has 24 projects nationwide with investments totaling over 40 trillion dong.
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