New Viet Bribery Scandal Widens
Major infrastructure build-out provides ample opportunity for grease
A new corruption scandal signaled by the April 15 arrest of Nguyen Duy Hung, a relative and aide to Vietnam’s National Assembly Chairman Vương Đình Huệ, appears to be widening with the April 22 detention by police of Phạm Thái Hà, Huệ’s assistant, for an investigation into “charges of abusing position and power for personal gains.” The charges appear to be centered on a Hanoi-based company called Thuận An Group, according to Vietnam watcher Michaael Tatarski in his newsletter Vietnam Weekly.
Thuận An chairman Nguyen Duy Hung has also been detained for “violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences” and “bribing” and the Ministry of Public Security’s investigative agency said it has launched legal proceedings against six people, including Hung, related to the violations that occurred at Thuan An Group and related units, according to local media. The country has been on a torrid infrastructure construction binge, investing 6 percent of GDP annually compared with an average of 2.3 percent for the region as it seeks to catch up with the rest of Asia. The spending, growing at a 7 percent annual compounded average clip, is estimated at US$18.33 billion in 2024, and expected to reach US$26.11 billion by 2029, which has opened substantial opportunities for graft in an economy that has been greased by it for decades…