Deputy foreign minister faces disciplinary action in repatriation flight scandal
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung. Photo by Baoquocte
The Party Central Inspection Committee has called for disciplinary action against To Anh Dung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Nguyen Quang Linh, assistant to deputy prime minister.
The committee issued a notice Monday after evaluating a report proposing disciplinary action against a number of people for allegedly receiving bribes, abusing power and fraudulently appropriating assets at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hanoi, and other provinces and cities.
The committee assessed that Dung and Linh have demonstrated irresponsibility, degradation of political ideology, ethics and lifestyle; and violated the Communist Party’s regulations and the State’s anti-corruption laws.
These violations have undermined the humanitarian policy of the Party and the State in organizing flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home when the Covid-19 epidemic broke out, it said, adding that their actions also had very serious consequences including loss of the Party’s prestige.
Dung was arrested in April for allegedly receiving bribes when organizing repatriation flights for Vietnamese citizens abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Vietnam organized around 800 repatriation flights and brought back over 200,000 citizens from over 60 countries and territories after the pandemic broke out.
Many people had to buy very expensive tickets and undergo troublesome procedures to get a flight home.
Several officials have since been arrested on accusations of taking bribes, including officials at the foreign ministry, the public security ministry, the Government Office and businesspeople.
