Government Office expert arrested in 'rescue flight' case

Lieutenant General To An Xo - Chief of Office, spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security said that the Ministry of Public Security's Security Investigation Agency has prosecuted and temporarily detained Mr. Than, 42 years old, for the crime ofTake bribes,according to article 354 of the Penal Code.

Defendant Nguyen Tien Than. Photo:Ministry of Public Security

This is the 17th person to be prosecuted after 8 months of investigation by the Ministry of Public Security's Security Investigation Agency.Bribery, bribery, Fraudulent appropriation of propertyoccurred at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Transport, Government Office and related units.

Among these, many people with positions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have been prosecuted and temporarily detained on charges.Take bribessuch as: Mr. To Anh Dung - Deputy Minister; Ms. Nguyen Thi Huong Lan - Director of Consulate; Mr. Do Hoang Tung - Deputy Director of Consulate; Mr. Le Tuan Anh - Chief of Office of Consular Department; Mr. Luu Tuan Dung - Deputy Head of Citizen Protection Department of Consular Department.

At the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security, former Deputy Director Tran Van Du and two subordinates, Vu Sy Cuong and Vu Anh Tuan, were also arrested on charges.Take bribes.

For the same crime, the investigation agency prosecuted Mr. Pham Trung Kien - expert of the Department of Medical Equipment and Construction, Ministry of Health; Mr. Ngo Quang Tuan - expert of the Department of International Cooperation, Ministry of Transport; Ms. Nguyen Mai Anh - expert of the Department of International Relations, Government Office.

The group of people prosecuted in the case. Photo:Ta Lu

Mr. Bui Huy Hoang - an officer of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Ministry of Health, is currently the only person in the case being investigated for charges.Fraudulent appropriation of property.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security once said that there were nearly 2,000 "rescue flights" to bring Vietnamese people back from abroad during the Covid-19 outbreak. Each flight, after deducting expenses, earned a profit of several billion VND.