Vietnamese citizens return to Việt Nam on a repatriation flight. Photo baochinhphu.vn

HÀ NỘI – A total of 54 defendants involved in the repatriation flight case will face different criminal charges, the Ministry of Public Security’s Investigative Police Agency said on Tuesday.

The case file has been transferred to the Supreme People's Procuracy for charges to be brought against 54 defendants, including many high-ranking officials. 

The defendants are alleged to have sought personal gain when organising repatriation flights for Vietnamese stranded overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

21 defendants will be charged with taking bribes specified in Article 354 of the Penal Code. These defendants include Nguyễn Quang Linh, former assistant to the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of the Government; Nguyễn Thanh Hải, Director of the International Relations Department of the Government Office; and Nguyễn Tiến Thân and Nguyễn Mai Anh, specialists of the International Relations Department of the Government Office.

Linh stands accused of accepting bribes totalling more than VNĐ4.2 billion (US$178,830) to approve licences for businesses to organise flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be charged with the same crimes, including Tô Anh Dũng, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, head of the Consular Department Nguyễn Thị Hương Lan, Đỗ Hoàng Tùng, deputy head of the department, Lê Tuấn Anh, chief of the department’s office, and Lưu Tuấn Dũng, deputy head of the department’s citizen protection desk.

Others include Vũ Hồng Nam, former Ambassador of Việt Nam in Japan, Nguyễn Hồng Hà, former Consul General of Việt Nam in Osaka, Japan, Lý Tiến Hùng, former officer of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia; and Vũ Ngọc Minh, former Ambassador of Việt Nam in Angola.

Deputy minister Dũng will be charged with accepting bribes worth VNĐ21.5 billion ($915,470) to license businesses that organised repatriation flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home. He has since returned VNĐ2 billion ($85,160).

Việt Nam’s ambassador to Japan Nam will be charged with abusing his position and authority to receive bribes of more than VNĐ1.8 billion ($76,644) to help Nhật Minh Company sell air tickets and hotel accommodation for six flights to bring people back from Japan.

He has returned the entire bribe.

In addition, other defendants will also be charged with receiving bribes, including Phạm Trung Kiên, expert at the Ministry of Health’s Department of Medical Equipment and Works; Ngô Quang Tuấn, expert from the Ministry of Transport’s Department of International Cooperation; Vũ Hồng Quang, Deputy Head of Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam’s Air Transport Department; Trần Văn Dự, Vũ Anh Tuấn and Vũ Sỹ Cường, former officers of the Ministry of Public Security’s Immigration Department; Trần Văn Tân, former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Quảng Nam province; and Chử Xuân Dũng, former Vice Chairman of Hà Nội People's Committee.

Four defendants will be charged with abusing their position and power while performing official duties specified in Article 356 of the Penal Code. These defendants are Trần Việt Thái, former Ambassador of Việt Nam in Malaysia; and Nguyễn Lê Ngọc Anh, Nguyễn Hoàng Linh and Đặng Minh Phương, former officers of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia.

A further 23 defendants will face charges of giving bribes, four charged with brokering bribes, and two others for the fraudulent appropriation of property.

These crimes occurred at various State agencies, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Transport, the Government Office, the Hà Nội People's Committee, and related units involved in rescue flights during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The defendants took advantage of the pandemic for personal gain, causing severe damage to citizens' property, legitimate rights and interests, and seriously undermining Việt Nam's reputation in the international arena, the Ministry of Public Security said.

It considers this a particularly serious and complicated case. More than 50 people were detained during the investigation.

During the probe, the security agency discovered that business owners accused of crimes continued to contact the officials to pay bribes to avoid criminal charges.

Also on Tuesday, Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, former Deputy Director of Hà Nội Police Department, was accused of receiving more than VNĐ61 billion ($2.65 million) to help two businessmen involved in the rescue flight case avoid criminal charges.

From January to December 2022, Tuấn received money from Nguyễn Thị Thanh Hằng, General Director of Blue Sky Trading, Service and Tourism Co., Ltd to help Hằng and Lê Hồng Sơn, former general director of Blue Sky Tourism & Service Trading Co., Ltd. avoid criminal charges.

In early March, Tuấn's family paid back $400,000.

Việt Nam organised nearly 800 flights since the beginning of the pandemic, repatriating more than 200,000 Vietnamese citizens from over 60 countries and territories. — VNS