Provincial leaders arrested for bribery in property crime case

By Pham Du March 8, 2024 | 06:18 am PT

Nguyen Van Hau, chairman of the Board of Directors of real estate firm Phuc Son, speaks at a meeting in Vinh Phuc Province. Photo by Vinh Phuc

The People's Committee chairman and Party leader of northern Vietnam's Vinh Phuc Province, as well as the chairman in the central province of Quang Ngai, were arrested Friday for allegedly receiving bribes involving real estate firms.

The arrested are Le Duy Thanh, chairman of Vinh Phuc, Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, Vinh Phuc's Party Secretary, Dang Van Minh, chairman of Quang Ngai, and that province's former chairman Cao Khoa, said Ministry of Public Security spokesman Lieutenant General To An Xo.

The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into Phuc Son Group JSC, Thang Long Real Estate and Trading Investment JSC, as well as other related groups.

Xo said police have also arrested Ha Hoang Viet Phuong, head manager of the Dung Quat economic zone in Quang Ngai, two of the province's transport officials, and a deputy director of Phuc Son, for bidding violations.

Phuc Son is one of the leading construction and real estate companies in Vinh Phuc, as well as the northern region as a whole.

On Feb. 26, Nguyen Van Hau, chairman of the Board of Directors of Phuc Son, was detained for allegedly violating accounting regulation, which caused "serious consequences."

For the same charge, three staff members from Phuc Son Group were also arrested.

The police initially determined that the accused at Phuc Son had committed acts of forgery, perjury, and selective book-keeping, all of which "caused serious damage to the state." Initial investigation found their violations caused more than VND640 billion (US$26 million) losses to the state budget.

The specific charges leveled at each individual arrested on Friday have not been revealed.