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Former senior Ho Chi Minh City official arrested

He was one of 3 city bosses detained in connection with the country's biggest fraud case.

By RFA Vietnamese 2024.05.08 -- Vietnam's communist party ordered the arrest of Le Thanh Hai, the former secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and a former Politburo member, state media reported.

Its Central Inspection Committee announced the move on Wednesday in relation to the Van Thinh Phat corruption scandal.

It said the Party Committee "violated the principle of democratic centralism and working regulations," and lacked responsibility, leadership and direction.

As a result, it said, the committee and other organizations violated party regulations and state laws relating to land use, finance, investment, planning and construction of Van Thinh Phat's projects and bidding packages implemented by the Progressive International Joint Stock Company.

In April, Truong My Lan, the chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat, was sentenced to death for masterminding a massive fraud that led to US$27 billion in losses at Saigon Commercial Bank.

On Wednesday, the Central Inspection Committee also arrested Le Hoang Quan and Nguyen Thanh Phong, two former chairmen of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee in connection with the scandal.

The three were also punished back in March 2020 for "violations and shortcomings" in connection with the Thu Thiem urban development project in Ho Chi Minh City. The Politburo ordered the dismissal of Hai as secretary of the city's Party Committee for the 2010-2015 term, while Quan and Phong received warnings.

The long-running "blazing furnace" campaign continues to net regional and national officials as Vietnam's communist party tries to stamp out corruption in its ranks.

Translated by RFA Vietnamese. Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.

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