Wed Dec 25 06:00:36 UTC 2024: **Vietnam Prosecutes Dozen Officials in COVID Repatriation Corruption Scandal**
HANOI, Vietnam (December 25, 2024) – A major corruption trial involving over a dozen Vietnamese officials began Tuesday in Hanoi. The defendants are accused of bribery and abuse of power related to repatriation flights during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is a continuation of a larger anti-corruption campaign that has already resulted in 54 convictions and the resignation of high-ranking officials, including a President and two deputy Prime Ministers.
Last year’s convictions, which involved four former senior officials from key ministries, resulted in life sentences for some and exposed bribes totaling an estimated $9.5 million. The current trial includes officials from the Transport Ministry, provincial governments, and travel companies. One defendant, former official Tran Tung, admitted to accepting over $300,000 in bribes to facilitate quarantine arrangements.
The scandal centered on the exploitation of complicated and expensive repatriation procedures during the height of the pandemic in early 2020, when Vietnam’s borders were largely closed. Families faced exorbitant costs to bring citizens home, with one mother reporting spending over $10,000 to repatriate her daughter from Europe. The trial is expected to last approximately one week.
First Piper 