Manpower supply firm chief arrested in pandemic flights scandal

Following the arrest of Tran Hong Ha, 50, director of Sao Viet International Commercial and Human Resources Supplying Co., Ltd, Ministry of Public Security spokesman To An Xo said Friday the scandal involving bribery and fraud keeps expanding.

Over eight months of investigation, 26 people, including officials in a number of ministries and other government agencies, have been arrested.

Several companies had bribed officials to get permission to organize the repatriation flights, and then charged passengers a lot of money.

Among those being investigated for "taking bribes" are former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung, former general director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' consular department, Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, assistant to Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, Nguyen Quang Linh, and top diplomats based in Vietnam and overseas.

The public security ministry had said in June that each repatriation flight organized during the pandemic fetched profits of several billion dong (VND1 billion = $43,600).

Around 400 flights were operated to bring home Vietnamese nationals stranded abroad.