A Vietnamese court on Friday sentenced 30 individuals, including several former senior government officials, to prison over a large-scale corruption case that cost the state an estimated $45 million.
The ruling, part of the communist country’s sweeping anti-graft campaign, follows the removal of two presidents and three deputy prime ministers in recent years, alongside the prosecution of top business leaders.
According to state media, the Hanoi court delivered verdicts to 30 former officials and 11 businesspeople, who faced charges ranging from bribery and abuse of power to violations of bidding and contracting laws.
Of the 41 defendants, 30 were convicted of corruption offences that prosecutors said led to state losses amounting to more than 1.16 trillion dong ($44.6 million), as reported by Public Security News.
While the bribes themselves were considerably smaller in value, prosecutors detailed a pattern of systematic payoffs that spanned more than a decade.
Central to the case was Nguyen Van Hau, chairman of the Phuc Son Group, who prosecutors said spent over $5 million between 2010 and 2024 bribing officials to secure contracts in over a dozen major infrastructure projects across three provinces.
Hau reportedly delivered the bribes in suitcases filled with cash to recipients’ offices and private residences. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his role in the scandal.
Former Communist Party chief of Vinh Phuc province, Hoang Thi Thuy Lan, received a 14-year sentence for accepting nearly $2 million in bribes, allegedly delivered in suitcases weighing up to 60 kilograms.
I recognise my mistakes and my crime and fully accept the indictment,” Lan told the court. “I would like to ask the court to reduce sentences for my comrades in the most humanitarian manner,” she said.
Lawyers representing Hau stated that he and his group have since paid over $45 million in compensation for the damages incurred.
This latest ruling follows the April sentencing of former deputy minister of industry and trade, Hoang Quoc Vuong, who was jailed for six years after admitting to taking a $57,600 bribe related to a solar energy development project. His family repaid the amount prior to sentencing.
