Vietnam receives 'unprecedented' disciplinary action over bribery of former parliament speaker

HANOI (Bloomberg): Vietnam’s Politburo issued a disciplinary “warning” to former parliament speaker Vuong Dinh Hue for violating anti-corruption regulations, underscoring the ruling Communist Party’s determination to continue the fight against corruption.

According to a post on the party’s news website, Hue violated regulations on anti-corruption work and rules governing the behavior of party members, leading to “serious” consequences and damaging the reputation of the party and the state.

“Although the term ‘unprecedented’ has been overused when talking about Vietnamese politics in the last three years, this case is really valid,” said Giang Khac Nguyen, a visiting researcher at the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore.

Giang added that this demonstrated the Party’s commitment to its “no exceptions” promise and “set a precedent for future actions, including possible prosecution against other former “Four Pillars” leaders.”

The “Four Pillars” refer to the top leaders in Vietnam: the Communist Party general secretary, prime minister, president, and speaker of the National Assembly. While a “warning” is only the second-lightest disciplinary penalty within the Party hierarchy, “It carries significant weight in this situation,” Giang said.

Hue, once seen as a possible successor to the late Secretary-General Nguyen Phu Trong, resigned from his post earlier this year.

The country’s former president, Vo Van Thuong, who resigned in March for “violating regulations”, has not yet been subject to disciplinary action as he is currently undergoing health treatment. He replaced former President Nguyen Xuan Phuc, who resigned last year after assuming “political responsibility”. ”For “violations and deficiencies” involving the manufacturer of Covid-19 testing kits and cases of bribery related to repatriation flights.

Hundreds of government officials and corporate executives have been caught up in the Party’s years-long anti-corruption campaign; this campaign has been cited as part of attempts to increase Vietnam’s attractiveness as a foreign investment destination. This also leads to allegations of bureaucratic paralysis and is seen by some observers as a way to eliminate political rivals amid behind-the-scenes power struggles.

Among those disciplined is former transport minister Nguyen Van The, who received a “warning” following his resignation in 2022.

Current Party chief To Lam is a former security minister who has said he will “resolutely” pursue an aggressive push to stamp out corruption while seeking to ease bureaucratic bottlenecks to help the economy. Fighting corruption by increasing inspections and audits of sectors most prone to corruption, according to the government’s statement, citing a meeting on October 30.

According to the statement on the commission’s website, the Politburo and the party’s central inspection commission imposed disciplinary penalties on at least 52 senior officials this year.

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