MANILA: Vietnam’s Communist Party called for disciplinary action against erring government officials, including a former deputy prime minister, after finding lapses in governance as part of a continuing crackdown on wrongdoings.
The party’s Central Inspection Commission recommended the action after a probe into the functioning of the Ministry of Industry and Trade found some "serious violations,” according to a statement late Wednesday on the government’s website.
The lapses pertain to planning and regulating development mechanisms for solar and wind power policy that potentially carry huge costs to the state in terms of money and assets, according to the statement. Violations were also found in managing gasoline and oil supply as well as in the management and use of the two commodities’ price stabilization fund.
Among those mentioned in the statement were former deputy prime minister Trinh Dinh Dung and politburo member and former trade minister Tran Tuan Anh. Deputy Trade Minister Do Thang Hai and Vietnam Oil and Gas Group Chairman Hoang Quoc Vuong were also named.
Calls to Do Thang Hai and Tran Tuan Anh and Dung for comments weren’t answered. A representative of Vietnam Oil and Gas wasn’t immediately available for comment.
Do Thang Hai, 60, was held as part of an investigation into alleged wrongdoing at an oil trading firm in southern Vietnam, the police-run Ministry of Public Security said in a statement.
The suggestion for disciplinary action comes amid a wide-ranging crackdown on corruption since 2021 - spanning both the public and private sectors - that has ensnared top political leaders and industry captains.
The campaign has drawn comparisons with neighboring China, also a one-party state that has seen a string of anti-corruption purges.
Earlier this week, a prominent businesswoman neared trial in an alleged fraud that resulted in over $12.5 billion of losses to a local lender.
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