Vietnam Starts Second Covid-19 Flight Bribery Trial, Report Says

(Bloomberg) -- Vietnam authorities are prosecuting a second group of people allegedly involved in bribery linked to pandemic-era repatriation flights, the latest chapter of a scandal that saw more than 40 people jailed last year and one that contributed to the downfall of a president.

Seventeen defendants have gone on trial in Hanoi charged with bribery, failing to report a crime, and abusing their positions and power, Tien Phong newspaper reported on its website, citing the court. Those accused include former transport ministry officials and provincial officials.

The prosecutions are part of a sweeping anti-graft campaign that has touched the highest levels of government, leading to the resignation of two presidents, three deputy prime ministers and the detention of scores of senior officials and business executives in Vietnam.

Former president Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who stepped down in early 2023, was issued with a disciplinary “warning” earlier this month for violating anti-corruption regulations. He had resigned after assuming “political responsibility” for “violations and shortcomings” involving graft cases related to the flights and a manufacturer of Covid-19 test kits.

Last year, four ex-government officials were sentenced to life in prison for their ties to the multimillion-dollar pandemic-era flights case. In total, 54 officials and businesspeople were convicted. Some later had their sentences reduced on appeal.

At the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic, when Vietnam’s borders were shut to almost everyone except for returning citizens, authorities licensed more than 1,000 repatriation flights to bring home over 200,000 Vietnamese, newspaper Nguoi Lao Dong reported. 

The trial is scheduled to last for eight days, news website reported.

--With assistance from Linh Vu Nguyen and Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen.

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