Phan Van Anh Vu (front) was sentenced to to 15 years in jail for “abusing position and power while performing duties” (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The People’s Court of Hanoi on January 30 sentenced Phan Van Anh Vu, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bac Nam 79 Construction Company and former Chairman of the Nova Bac Nam 79 Company, to 15 years in jail for “abusing position and power while performing duties” under Article 356 of the 2015 Penal Code.
Vu, born in 1975, is a former Senior Lieutenant Colonel and deputy head of a division at the General Department V of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).
His accomplices, Nguyen Huu Bach (born in 1963, former Colonel and deputy head of Department B61 under the General Department V) and Phan Huu Tuan (born in 1955, former Lieutenant General and Deputy General Director of the General Department V), each received five years imprisonment for the same charge.
Agreeing with the previous judge on the charge of “deliberately disclosing State secrets,” the total sentences of Bach and Tuan are 11 years and 12 years in prison, respectively.
However, the total sentence for Vu has yet to be announced. He was previously given eight years in jail by the High People's Court in Hanoi on October 31, 2018.
Meanwhile, two other accomplices of Vu, Bui Van Thanh (born in 1959, former Lieutenant General and Deputy Minister of the MPS), and Tran Viet Tan (born in 1955, former Senior Lieutenant General and Deputy Minister of the MPS), were sentenced to 30 months and 36 months in prison, respectively, for the same charge of “showing irresponsibility, causing serious consequences” under Article 285 of the 1999 Penal Code.
According to the indictment of the procuracy, while operating the Bac Nam 79 Construction and Nova Bac Nam 79 Companies, Phan Van Anh Vu, under the name of the MPS, asked ministries, sectors, and local administrations to rent land to him as well as transfer to him the right to use land and property on land of public housing and land projects in prime positions in Da Nang city and Ho Chi Minh City, which was not in line with State regulations.
He then went on to make them his own properties or those of his relatives, transferred them, or put them under shared ownership with other people to earn illegal profits. Bach and Tuan drafted, signed, and submitted documents advising the General Department V to issue documents enabling Vu to commit such violations.
Under the first instance judgment, Vu, with the highest role in the case, has to bear responsibility for a loss of over 135 billion VND to the State.
Bach and Tuan caused a total loss of 132 billion VND. Meanwhile, with their irresponsibility, Tan’s activities led to a loss of 36 billion VND, while losses caused by Thanh are just over 3.5 billion VND. Both Tan and Thanh expressed their regret at the court.
The trial court also proposed that the Investigation Police Agency continue clarifying the legacy of land allocation made by authorised agencies in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to uncover violations.–VNA
VNA
