Vietnam arrests 2 ex-ministers suspected of mismanagement
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Vietnamese officials said Saturday that they have arrested two former information ministers suspected of mismanaging state investment capital, as the authorities toughen their crackdown on corruption.
The Ministry of Public Security said on its website that the People's Supreme Procuracy approved prosecution orders against Truong Minh Tuan, former minister of information and communications, and his predecessor Nguyen Bac Son for "violating regulations on management and use of state investment capital causing serious consequences," and that police were speeding up their investigation into the case. The offense carries a jail sentence of up to 20 years.
Son was information minister from 2011 to 2016 and Tuan held the post from 2016 until last year, when he was fired for mismanagement at state-owned Mobifone, one of Vietnam's biggest mobile phone operators.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The ruling Communist Party's Inspection Committee said earlier that it found Mobifone had overpaid to buy 95 percent of the shares of loss-making pay TV provider Audio Visual Global Joint Stock Company, in a deal worth nearly 8.9 trillion dong ($380 million).
Around 10 senior officials at the ministry and senior executives at Mobifone have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the case.
A former Politburo member and many other former or current officials have been jailed for corruption or economic-related crimes in the past few years.