Jakarta –
Vietnam rocked by scandal again corruption. The latest case is said to be the biggest corruption scandal in the region, namely Southeast Asia.
Vietnamese authorities arrested prominent real estate developer Truong My Lan last month. He is suspected of embezzling nearly US$ 12.4 billion (Rp. 191 trillion), or the equivalent of more than 3% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
As reported German wave (DW), Tuesday (5/12/2023), the ruling Communist Party in Vietnam began carrying out a massive anti-corruption campaign since 2016. This anti-corruption movement has overthrown the president and several senior government ministers.
At the beginning of this year, Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned from office President of Vietnam. Phuc’s announcement to resign as president came after rumors circulated that he would be fired amid a major anti-corruption operation.
As reported AFPTuesday (17/1/2023), Vietnam news agency reported VNA mention Phuc The 68-year-old has ‘submitted his resignation from the positions he held, quit his job and retired’.
Phuc’s sudden resignation was a highly unusual move in Vietnam, where political changes are usually carefully orchestrated to maintain stability.
Biggest Scandal in Southeast Asia
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security accused the chairman of real estate developer Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group, Truong My Lan, of corruption of around 304 trillion dong (191 trillion rupiah) from Saigon Commercial Bank. Truong My Lan was the majority shareholder in the bank for several years.
In a statement by Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, Truong My Lan, who was first arrested last year, operated a vast network of more than 1,000 domestic and foreign subsidiaries and other shell companies by borrowing more than €40 billion (Rp. 618 trillion). from Saigon Commercial Bank, and took a third of it through “shadow companies” he created together with his family and associates.
This case was recorded as the biggest corruption scandal in history Southeast Asia. By comparison, the 1MDB scandal in Malaysia in the 2010s cost the country €4.1 billion in wealth. The scandal in the neighboring country caused the dominant party in Malaysia to lose power for the first time.
In the most recent case in Vietnam, in mid-November, Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security recommended the prosecution of another 85 people. They consisted of 24 government officials and associates from Van Thinh Phat Holdings Group and Saigon Commercial Bank.
Days later, the Internal Affairs Commission of the Communist Party Central Committee recommended opening investigations against 23 other state officials, including 12 people from the State Bank of Vietnam, the country’s central bank.
One of the many allegations against Truong My Lan and his associates is that they allegedly bribed investigators for years to ignore balance sheet discrepancies at Saigon Commercial Bank.
This includes bribes reportedly paid to the Head of the Inspectorate and Supervision Department of the State Bank of Vietnam.
Read the full news on the next page.
(jbr/dhn)
2023-12-05 23:01:31
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