Hanoi (VNA) - Prosecutors have proposed a prison sentence of 12-13 years for Nguyen Ba Hoan, born in 1967, former Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA – now part of the Ministry of Home Affairs) for receiving bribes under Article 354 of the Penal Code.
The first-instance trial for Hoan and 27 other defendants involved accepting bribes, brokering bribes, and accounting violations, and moved to the debate stage on August 20.
Also, for the charge of receiving bribes, prosecutors proposed three to four years in prison for Le Thanh Ha, born in 1978 and former head of the Vietnamese workers management board at the Vietnamese Embassy in the Republic of Korea.
Seven former officials of the Department of Overseas Labour under the MoLISA also face prison terms for accepting bribes. They include former department director Tong Hai Nam, who faces 15-16 years, Nguyen Thanh Hung, an office official, 7-8 years, and former deputy directors Nguyen Gia Liem, 3-4 years, and Pham Viet Huong, 30-36 months with a suspended sentence. Also on the docket are Phan Thi Thu Trang, an official in charge of handling complaints and denunciations, 4-5 years; Do Van Huong, acting head of the Legal Affairs Division, 30-36 months with a suspended sentence; and former deputy head of the Asia-Africa Market Division, Ta Thi Thanh Thuy, 24-30 months with a suspended sentence.
Nguyen Lam Son, born in 1982 and director of Thanh Do Law Firm LLC, faces 5-6 years in prison for brokering bribes under Article 365 of the Penal Code.
For the defendants from Hoang Long Investment, Construction and Manpower Supply JSC, prosecutors proposed five to six years for chairman and general director Nghiem Quoc Hung; 36 months with a suspended sentence for accounting officer Pham Thi Hanh; and 36-42 months for Nguyen Dinh Tham, general director of JHL Human Resources Supply Company and deputy general director of Hoang Long.
Prosecutors also proposed sentences ranging from 15 to 42 months for defendants charged with violating accounting regulations, causing serious consequences.
The Supreme People’s Procuracy indictment said that from 2021 through May 2025, Hoan, then Deputy Minister in charge of the Department of Overseas Labour, knew but still let then Director-General Tong Hai Nam direct officials to create difficulties for companies during the appraisal of license applications to send Vietnamese workers abroad.
The defendants allegedly forced companies to pay 100–400 million VND (3,800–15,300 USD) per license at a set rate.
During the approval of responses to registration applications for overseas labour supply contracts, Hoan agreed to let Nam direct an unlawful appraisal process, blocking businesses from independently providing required documents. Companies were allegedly forced to pay about 500 USD per worker to receive favourable treatment and approval.
Through the scheme, Nguyen Ba Hoan, Tong Hai Nam, and several department officials allegedly received more than 30 billion VND in bribes from individuals tied to 31 companies.
Between 2020 and 2025, the companies of Nghiem Quoc Hung, Nguyen Duc Nam, and Nghiem Van Dinh —all operating in the labour export sector— maintained dual accounting systems and kept over 1.241 trillion VND off the books; this practice reduced their corporate income tax liability, resulting in a tax loss to the State of more than 244 billion VND.
Hoan signed 14 licenses and agreed to the unlawful appraisal process for E-7 visa labour supply dossiers. He forced companies to make payments and provide gifts on holidays and Lunar New Year, receiving total bribes of more than 16.3 billion VND, according to the Supreme People’s Procuracy./.
