Vietnam rescue flights scandal: Trial opens for over 50 officials

Over 50 officials wenton trial in Vietnam on Tuesday (July 11) for the alleged corruption over repatriation flights during the Covid pandemic. Prosecutors would charge 21 officials and civil servants for receiving almost seven million dollars from up to 100 businesses to solve administrative procedures for repatriation,a report by Thanh Nien newspaper said quoting the indictment.

The report said 33 others will face various other charges including "offering or intermediating bribes, fraudulence and power abuse."

The total amount of bribery in the case reached $9.5 million. This amount included around $2.65 million given to police to avoid prosecution.

The repatriation flight trial, which involves over 100 defence lawyers, is scheduled to last one month. On Tuesday morning,state media published photos of the defendants -- all wearing masks -- as they were led by police to the court building in central Hanoi where they underwent a security check.

The scandal

In 2020 when the Covid pandemic started, Vietnam closed itself off to the world in a bid to slow the spread of the virus and organised nearly 800 charter flights to bring citizens home from 60 countries and territories.

However, citing multiple reports, the news agency AFP reported that travellers faced complications while paying exorbitant airfares and quarantine fees to get back to Vietnam. The alleged bribes totalled millions of dollars.

This case is part of a major anti-corruption drive in Vietnam that led to President Nguyen Xuan Phuc's sudden resignation earlier this year. To Anh Dung, the former deputy minister of foreign affairs is alleged to have received nearly $910,000 in bribes to add companies to a list of repatriation flight providers, the AFP report said.

Dung and Nguyen Quang Linh- the former assistant to the deputy prime minister- could face the death penalty if found guilty.

An anti-corruption purge

The corruption allegations are part of an anti-corruption purge led by Communist Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong that involved several deals done during Vietnam's Covid pandemic response. Earlier this year, the National Assembly removed Pham Binh Minh and Vu Duc Dam from their positions as deputy prime ministers.

Minh was a minister of foreign affairs while Dam was in charge of Vietnam's handling of the pandemic.

At least 100 officials and businesspeople, including Dam's assistant, have been arrested in connection with a scandal involving the distribution of Covid testing kits.

(With inputs from agencies)

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