A representative from the Supreme People's Procuracy reads the indictment at the court. (Photo: VNA) Of the 54 defendants, 21 are accused of “taking bribes”under Article 354 of the Penal Code, while 23 are charged with “givingbribes” under Article 364 of the Penal Code, four are charged with “brokeringbribes” under Article 365 of the Penal Code and four others are accused of "abusing position and power while performing official duties" in line with Article 356 of the Penal Code. One defendant is prosecuted for the charge of "committing fraud for propertyappropriation” under Article 174 and another is accused of both charges of "committing frauds for property appropriation" and “giving bribes”.
The 21 defendants charged with "taking bribes" include Nguyen QuangLinh, former assistant to the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of theGovernment; Nguyen Thanh Hai, Director of the International RelationsDepartment of the Government Office; and Nguyen Tien Than and Nguyen MaiAnh, specialists of the International Relations Department of the GovernmentOffice.
Former officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who are accused of the same charge include former DeputyMinister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung, former head of the Consular Department Nguyen Thi HuongLan, former deputy head of the department Do Hoang Tung, formerchief of the department’s office Le Tuan Anh, and former deputy head of thedepartment’s citizen protection desk Luu Tuan Dung.
Also being accused of "taking bribes" are Vu Hong Nam, former Ambassador of Vietnam to Japan; Nguyen Hong Ha, former Consul General of Vietnam in Osaka, Japan; Ly TienHung, former official of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia; and Vu Ngoc Minh,former Ambassador of Vietnam to Angola.
In addition, the other defendants charged with receivingbribes include Pham Trung Kien, expert at the Ministry of Health’s Departmentof Medical Equipment and Works; Ngo Quang Tuan, expert from the Ministryof Transport’s Department of International Cooperation; Vu Hong Quang, DeputyHead of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam’s Air Transport Department; TranVan Du, Vu Anh Tuan and Vu Sy Cuong, former officers of the Ministry ofPublic Security’s Immigration Department; Tran Van Tan, former ViceChairman of the People's Committee of Quang Nam province; and Chu Xuan Dung,former Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee.
The four defendants charged with "abusing theirposition and power while performing official duties" specified inArticle 356 of the Penal Code are Tran Viet Thai, formerAmbassador of Vietnam to Malaysia; and Nguyen Le Ngoc Anh, Nguyen HoangLinh and Dang Minh Phuong, former officers of the Vietnamese Embassy inMalaysia.
Of the defendants, 44 have been detained. A record number of nearly120 lawyers will defend the defendants at the court.
The jury has summoned about 60 people having related rights and obligations,and 40 witnesses to the court.
According to the indictment announced by the Supreme People’sProcuracy, in January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in China and developedcomplicatedly in the world. In March 2020, the Government arranged a flight tobring 30 Vietnamese citizens home from Wuhan, China. In April 2020, several repatriationflights were operated, and the passengers had to pay ticket fares.
In November 2020, due to the high demands of returning homeamong Vietnamese citizens abroad and limited resources, the Government pilotedthe operations of 10 repatriation flights for which passengers had to pay allthe fees (combo flights), and assigned the task to a working group gatheringofficials from five ministries.
During the process of licensing the lights and approving the quarantine plansin localities from September 2020 to December 2022, a number of officials fromministries and sectors as well as individuals from businesses, along with other people, committed law violations.
According to the Supreme People’s Procuracy, 25 defendantsabused their positions and power to receive bribes worth nearly 165 billion VND (6.96million USD) while performing their duties, causing a loss of over 10billion VND, while representatives from businesses gave bribes worth more than226 billion VND (9.53 million USD), and four other acted as brokers for bribesof over 74 billon VND and committed frauds to appropriate nearly 25 billionVND.
The court is scheduled to last for one month./.
In addition, the other defendants charged with receivingbribes include Pham Trung Kien, expert at the Ministry of Health’s Departmentof Medical Equipment and Works; Ngo Quang Tuan, expert from the Ministryof Transport’s Department of International Cooperation; Vu Hong Quang, DeputyHead of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam’s Air Transport Department; TranVan Du, Vu Anh Tuan and Vu Sy Cuong, former officers of the Ministry ofPublic Security’s Immigration Department; Tran Van Tan, former ViceChairman of the People's Committee of Quang Nam province; and Chu Xuan Dung,former Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee.
The four defendants charged with "abusing theirposition and power while performing official duties" specified inArticle 356 of the Penal Code are Tran Viet Thai, formerAmbassador of Vietnam to Malaysia; and Nguyen Le Ngoc Anh, Nguyen HoangLinh and Dang Minh Phuong, former officers of the Vietnamese Embassy inMalaysia.
Of the defendants, 44 have been detained. A record number of nearly120 lawyers will defend the defendants at the court.
The jury has summoned about 60 people having related rights and obligations,and 40 witnesses to the court.
According to the indictment announced by the Supreme People’sProcuracy, in January 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in China and developedcomplicatedly in the world. In March 2020, the Government arranged a flight tobring 30 Vietnamese citizens home from Wuhan, China. In April 2020, several repatriationflights were operated, and the passengers had to pay ticket fares.
In November 2020, due to the high demands of returning homeamong Vietnamese citizens abroad and limited resources, the Government pilotedthe operations of 10 repatriation flights for which passengers had to pay allthe fees (combo flights), and assigned the task to a working group gatheringofficials from five ministries.
During the process of licensing the lights and approving the quarantine plansin localities from September 2020 to December 2022, a number of officials fromministries and sectors as well as individuals from businesses, along with other people, committed law violations.
According to the Supreme People’s Procuracy, 25 defendantsabused their positions and power to receive bribes worth nearly 165 billion VND (6.96million USD) while performing their duties, causing a loss of over 10billion VND, while representatives from businesses gave bribes worth more than226 billion VND (9.53 million USD), and four other acted as brokers for bribesof over 74 billon VND and committed frauds to appropriate nearly 25 billionVND.
The court is scheduled to last for one month./.
VNA
