Testimony on sharing bribe money in the 'rescue flight' case
Answering questions in court, many defendants in the "rescue flight" case admitted to receiving bribes as accused, and some defendants revealed how the bribe money was divided.
According to the accusation, the Immigration Department was assigned by the Ministry of Public Security to receive, review, propose, and give opinions on approving plans to organize flights to bring Vietnamese citizens back home when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out.
At the Staff Office, Mr. Vu Sy Cuong (officer, member of the Staff Office) was assigned to research, propose, and draft documents for Mr. Vu Anh Tuan (Deputy Head of Office, Head of the Support Team) to sign and submit to Mr. Tran Van Du (Deputy Director) to sign documents in response to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to grant flight permits to businesses. Mr. Du also approved the signing of visa exemption papers for some guests returning to the country.
Taking advantage of their assigned duties and powers, the defendants accepted bribes. During the investigation, it was determined that defendant Vu Anh Tuan reported to Mr. Tran Van Du 7 times that he had received a total of 7.5 billion VND from a number of businesses.
After that, defendant Tran Van Du directed to divide more than 3 billion VND for himself and Mr. Tuan each, the remaining amount was spent on Mr. Cuong and personal expenses. Defendant Du was also determined to have directly received 100 million VND from 2 businesses.
At the trial of the "rescue flight" case, defendant Du stated that defendant Tuan reported on the amount of money received from the business organizing the flight.
“Defendant Tuan said it was a thank you money and told me to handle it in a harmonious way. Tuan and I received the same amount, while Cuong received less. Of the 7 times Tuan reported, I received 3.5 billion, Tuan 3.5 billion, and Cuong received the rest,” Mr. Du’s testimony said.
According to the testimony of the former Deputy Director of the Immigration Department, the defendant realized the problem as soon as some officers were arrested.
Mr. Du stated that he retired in March 2022. Of the 37 years he spent in the police force, 35 years were “very clean”, the remaining time was “tainted”. Currently, the family has recovered 100% of the bribe money.
In the “rescue flight” case, Mr. Tran Viet Thai (former Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia) was prosecuted for the crime of Abusing position and power while performing official duties.
The accusation is that, in the process of organizing 8 "rescue" flights to bring people who have completed their prison terms in Malaysia back to Vietnam, Mr. Thai and defendants Nguyen Le Ngoc Anh and Nguyen Hoang Linh (both former officials of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia) illegally collected money, higher than the actual cost from people who have completed their prison terms, to pay and illegally profit, causing a loss of more than 10 billion VND.
In relation to the case, defendant Dang Minh Phuong (former accountant of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia) was involved in causing losses of more than 5.7 billion VND.
Regarding illegal benefits, Mr. Thai received 580 million VND; the two defendants Ngoc Anh and Hoang Linh each received 480 million VND; and defendant Phuong received 220 million VND.
In court, Mr. Thai stated that he was the one who decided on the collection and spending levels. Regarding the collection levels, he assigned the staff to survey and consult internally.
Defendant Thai admitted his mistake when he decided to deduct a portion of the collected money against regulations to compensate Embassy staff at a ratio of 1.5 for the defendant and 1.2 and 1 for the other defendants. This ratio is based on the overseas living allowance level provided by the State to Embassy staff.
“At that time, the Covid-19 epidemic had not ended, and more than 200 people had not yet been able to return home. The defendant determined that after bringing the rest of them back, he would return the money to the state budget or return it to the employer,” Mr. Thai testified.
Admitting there were violations, but according to the former Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia, paying allowances to embassy staff is common in Malaysia, otherwise it would be impossible to mobilize people to work.
