Former people's committee vice chairman and seven others prosecuted

Former Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Nguyen Huu Tin

The Ministry of Public Security will investigate alleged relations between the eight defendants and Phan Van Anh Vu (also known as Vu “Nhom”), who was jailed for revealing state secrets.

On September 18, 2018, the ministry’s investigation agency has issued a decision to start criminal proceedings for “Offences against regulations on the management and use of state-owned property that lead to losses or wastefulness” (Article 219 of Criminal Code 2015) in Ho Chi Minh City and “Offences against regulations on land management” (Article 229) in Danang.

The authority also decided to prosecute the accused, put them under house arrest, and search their houses and workplaces in an attempt to collect additional evidence for eight former leaders and officials in Ho Chi Minh City and Danang. The defendants include:

• Nguyen Huu Tin (1957), former Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee;
• Dao Anh Kiet (1957), former director general of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Natural Resources and Environment;
• Le Van Thanh (1962), former deputy chief of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee’s Office;
• Nguyen Thanh Chuong (1974), head of the Urban Division of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee;
• Dao Tan Bang (1975), former deputy chief of the Danang City People’s Committee Office, now Secretary of the Danang Industrial Zones Party Committee;
• Nguyen Viet Vinh (1978), former head of the Urban Division of the Danang City People’s Committee, currently serving as director of the Danang Inland Waterway Port Authority;
• Nguyen Van Can (1954), former chief of the Danang City People’s Committee Office;
• Phan Xuan It (1954), former deputy chief of the Danang City People’s Committee Office.

Dao Tan Bang and Nguyen Viet Vinh are currently kept in police custody.

These eight defendants have been interrogated about their involvement in violations committed by Vu “Nhom,” who used to be one of the biggest property developers in Danang. He was the chairman of three large property companies and a shareholder in a number of projects in the city. He was sentenced to nine years in prison for “deliberately disclosing state secrets.”

Vu is now under investigation for "tax evasion," "abuse of power or position in performance of official duties," "abuse of power or position to appropriate property," and "violating regulations on the management and use of state-owned property that led to losses or wastefulness" in separate cases, which include alleged graft at DongA Bank and the violation of land regulations in Danang.

Earlier, the Danang police started legal proceedings of several former leaders and business executives, including former city chairmen Tran Van Minh and Van Huu Chien.