Former foreign affairs official jailed for forging papers to get US visa

Nguyen Quoc Tram, 53, former director of the Khanh Hoa Province’s Department of Foreign Affairs, was found guilty of "abusing power in the performance of official duties" and "commission of fraud in performance of duties."

Tram was said to be sick and sentenced in absentia.

According to the indictment, in late 2015, while serving as head of the provincial Department of Foreign Affairs, Tram directed his subordinates to forge documents and payslips for Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thao, a 41-year-old woman, to make her deputy chief of the department’s office.

Then he faked a letter by the HCMC-based Tran Group inviting him and Thao to travel to the U.S. for business purposes, and asked his employees to forge a diplomatic note from his department for sending to the U.S. Consulate General in HCMC, requesting a visa for him and Thao.

Tram was arrested in June 2019. No information was released on how many trips the duo had made to the U.S. with the forgery or if Thao would face any legal action.

During his tenure, Tram also asked his accountant to fake papers of salary payments and both appropriated over VND170 million ($7,380) from the state budget. The accountant, Nguyen Thuy Phuong Thao, was given a three-year jail term Monday.