Former Minister and Chairman of Government Office arrested

VIETNAM, May 4 - HÀ NỘI — Mai Tiến Dũng, the former Minister and Chairman of the Government Office, has been arrested and is facing prosecution for allegations of power abuse during his tenure.

The apprehension was revealed by Lieutenant General Tô Ân Xô, Spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security, during a regular Government press conference on May 4.

General Xô said the arrest is part of an ongoing investigation into bribery and abuse of power cases in Lâm Đồng Province and other related localities.

Mai Tiến Dũng, born in 1959 in Hà Nam Province, was a member of the 12th and 13th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Việt Nam.

During his career, he has held the positions of Secretary of Hà Nam's Provincial Party Committee and Minister and Chairman of the Government Office.

Recently, he was disciplined by Politburo with a warning for violations related to the rescue flights repatriating Vietnamese citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

After obtaining the arrest warrant from the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Ministry of Public Security took Dũng into custody in April 30.

At the conference, General Xô also provided updates on the ongoing investigations into two major corruption cases involving the Phúc Sơn Group and the Thuận An Group.

In the Phúc Sơn Group case, he revealed that the Investigation Police Agency had so far prosecuted 23 suspects and would continue to expand the investigation.

In the Thuận An Group case, the agency has prosecuted eight suspects, including Dương Văn Thái, Secretary of Bắc Giang's Provincial Party Committee, who was charged with abusing power while performing duties.

General Xô also provided details of the Thuận An Group's alleged wrongdoings. Between December 2014 and December 2023, the group won 32 bid packages in 16 provinces and cities with a total value of over VNĐ23 trillion (US$905 million). — VNS