Hanoi (VNA) - 𝓀The Investigation Police Agency under theMinistry of Public Security (MoPS) has asked the Supreme People’s Procuracy to prosecutetwo suspects for “swindling to appropriate assets” in the high-profile caseconcerning Phan Van Anh Vu (also known as Vu Nhom), former chairman of BacNam 79 Construction Joint Stock Company in Da Nang.

Theagency has completed investigations and transferred to the Supreme People’sProcuracy the records of the two suspects, who are Hoang Van Chau and Thanh Minh Hung, both residingin HCM City. The twomen were accused of receiving hundreds of thousands of US dollars from Vu bypromising to help him and his relatives get US passports. Accordingto the results of the investigation, since late April and early May 2017,after articles and images concerning Phan Van Anh Vu – many of whichcontain State secrets – surfaced on many websites, the Investigation PoliceAgency summoned Vu for questioning. Theagency also issued a decision to stop him from leaving Vietnam to help theinvestigation. On June 30, 2017, the MoPS launched legal proceedingsagainst him for “deliberately disclosing State secrets”. To avoidbeing investigated, Vu contacted and transferred money to Chau, asking him tohelp Vu and his family members get US passports to leave the country. Afterreceiving money from Vu, Chau contacted Hung, an acquaintance, as Hungsaid that he knew an agency that offered the service. In December 2017, Chautold Vu that he had the passports which were left at the US Embassy inSingapore, and asked Vu to go to Singapore to collect them. OnDecember 21, 2017, Vu used a passport under the name Le Van Sau to go toCambodia and then entered Singapore. At the same time, the MoPS issued Decision222 putting Vu on the wanted list. Then, on January 4 last year, he wasarrested. AlthoughVu told the police he had been scammed out of 700,000 USD but it was revealedthrough the investigation that Chau and Hung only took 145,000 USD and 5,000USD, respectively, from him. Chau’s wife had voluntarily returned 3.5 billionVND (150,800USD). TheInvestigation Police Agency proposed that 150,000 USD out of the money that Chau'swife voluntarily returned should be confiscated while the two suspects facetrial. Accordingto the agency, this was the money that Vu has transferred to Châu forillegitimate purposes, requiring confiscation to offset the damage. Vu, born 1975,a real estate mogul in the central city of Da Nang, was charged with severalserious criminal offences – deliberate disclosure of State secrets, taxevasion, abuse of power, and violations of State regulations on management anduse of State assets, resulting in serious losses and wastefulness. He wassentenced to 17 years in prison for “abusing position and power to appropriateassets” and an eight-year sentence for “deliberately disclosing Statesecrets” in another case.-VNA