Reuters AlertNet Lite - Vietnam tries nine people in graft, gambling scam

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Vietnam tries nine people in graft, gambling scam

01 Aug 2007 09:53:48 GMT
Source: Reuters

HANOI, Aug 1 (Reuters) - A Vietnam court started trying nine people on Wednesday in a bribery and gambling scandal which cost the transport minister his job and prompted the detention of his deputy last year.

The nine, including a senior government official and two police officers, faced the Hanoi People's Court on charges of "organising gambling, gambling and giving bribes", the Communist Party-run Nhan Dan newspaper reported.

The trial started a day before the National Assembly was scheduled to approve a new cabinet headed by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, who has proposed one of his five deputies play a key role on the government's anti-corruption committee.

The scandal in the Transport Ministry-run Project Management Unit (PMU) 18 responsible for building roads and bridges broke in late 2005 and led to the detention of its boss, Bui Tien Dung, in early 2006.

Bui Tien Dung, 48, is among the nine on trial.

He and two PMU 18 officials were accused of gambling more than $765,000 on international football matches, the Nhan Dan newspaper quoted the prosecution's indictment report as saying.

The three were also accused of giving $30,000 in bribes and could face the death penalty if found guilty, prosecutors said.

The trial is scheduled to last three days.

In April 2006, Transport Minister Dao Dinh Binh resigned even though he was not accused of any wrongdoing.

Police also detained his deputy, Nguyen Viet Tien, and accused him of breaking the law on economic management and for lax responsibility. But Tien did not face trial on Wednesday.

The case has raised public interest and criticism, especially given the amount of money involved as the per capital annual income of ordinary Vietnamese was $640 last year.

The PMU 18 case also raised concerns among donors about the use of aid. Japan and the World Bank are among international donors whose projects are being implemented by the unit.

But in May, the World Bank said a review launched after the scandal to look at Vietnam's road projects found no evidence of corruption against PMU 18 officials.

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Last updated:Wed Aug 1 09:54:59 2007