17 people proposed for prosecution in phase two of the 'rescue flight' scandal

On October 2, the Ministry of Public Security's Security Investigation Agency issued an investigation conclusion, proposing to prosecute 17 people in the case.Receiving bribes, Giving bribes, Abusing position and power while performing official dutiesandConcealing a criminaloccurred in Thai Nguyen and some other provinces and cities.

This is phase 2 of the "rescue flight" case, investigated from June 2023 when phase 1 was under prosecution. The investigation time for both phases is the same, 15-16 months.

In phase 2, Mr. Tran Tung - former Deputy Director of the Department of Foreign Affairs of Thai Nguyen province, was proposed to be prosecuted for two crimes.Take bribesandAbuse of position and power while performing official duties.

5 people were proposed to be prosecuted for the crimeTake bribes,including: Nguyen Van Van - former Deputy Director of the Department of Health of Quang Nam province; Le Ngoc Tuong - former Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Quang Nam province; Le Thi Phuong - former specialist of the Department of Science, Education and Social Affairs, Office of the People's Committee of Hai Duong province; Nguyen Manh Truong - former specialist of the Department of Air Transport, Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam; Tran Thi Quyen - Director of Sen Vang Dat Viet Company.

In 10 people proposed to prosecute the crimeBriberyThere are Mr. Vu Hong Quang - former Deputy Head of Air Transport Department, Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam; Nguyen Manh Cuong.

The only person in the case recommended for prosecutionConcealing a criminalis Mr. Nguyen Xuan Thong, former police officer.

According to the investigation, after the Covid-19 outbreak, in March 2020, the Government organized a rescue flight to bring 30 Vietnamese citizens from Wuhan, China back to the country. A month later, the Government continued to organize a number of flights that only charged airfare and quarantined them at military facilities.

Due to the high demand for citizens to return home, while quarantine and costs are difficult, the Government has directed and assigned a working group of 4 ministries: Foreign Affairs, Health, Transport, and National Defense, to decide on a plan to organize flights to bring citizens home monthly and quarterly. From April 2021 to January 2022, the authority to approve flights is assigned to 5 ministries (with the addition of the Ministry of Public Security).

The organization of flights to bring citizens home is carried out in three forms. First, flights coordinated by the State, called "rescue" flights. Second, the form of a package to bring Vietnamese citizens home with voluntary funding, called "combo" flights. Third, single flights, arising unexpectedly and unplanned.

Authorities accused that, taking advantage of the correct policy and the power assigned to them, some individuals at the People's Committees of provinces and cities agreed to give and receive bribes. They violated their official duties to propose approving the policy for businesses to bring citizens back to the country for medical quarantine in localities. They also took advantage of their positions to instruct and incite related people to make false statements, conceal crimes, and obstruct investigations.

In particular, defendant Tran Tung took advantage of his position and authority to negotiate and receive a bribe of 4.4 billion VND to advise and propose that the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province approve the policy of medical isolation for 3 flights of Mr. Le Van Nghia - Director of Nhat Minh Company. Defendant Tung also took advantage of his position and authority to illegally profit 3.2 billion VND to propose that the People's Committee of Thai Nguyen province approve the policy of medical isolation for 5 flights of Ms. Bui Thi Kim Phung (representative of Fujitravel Company, Japan).

Nguyen Manh Cuong was accused of working with a number of people to collect documents of citizens who wanted to return home and agreed to increase the cost difference from 100 to 500 USD per person to benefit. To obtain a document approving 388 citizens to return home and benefit from 2 billion VND, Cuong transferred 3.8 billion VND to Vu Hong Quang to bribe Pham Trung Kien, former Secretary of the Deputy Minister of Health.

At the first-instance trial of the first phase of the rescue flight case, at the end of July 2023, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced 54 people to one of the following crimes:Bribery, Bribery brokerage, Bribery acceptance, Fraudulent appropriation of property and Abuse of position and power while performing official duties.Four people were sentenced to life in prison: former Director of the Consular Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Thi Huong Lan; former investigator of the Security Investigation Agency Hoang Van Hung; former Deputy Chief of Staff, Immigration Department, Ministry of Public Security Vu Anh Tuan and Pham Trung Kien.

At the appeal hearing five months later, defendant Hoang Van Hung's sentence was reduced from life imprisonment to 20 years in prison. The panel of judges held that defendant Kien's acceptance of a bribe of 42.6 billion VND, Vu Anh Tuan's acceptance of 27 billion VND, and Huong Lan's acceptance of 25 billion VND had "caused public outrage and required a deterrent punishment to ensure the strictness of the law", so the life sentence was upheld.