Deputy foreign minister arrested over pandemic flight bribery allegations

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung. Photo courtesy of Baoquocte

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs To Anh Dung has been arrested for allegedly receiving bribes when organizing repatriation flights for Vietnamese citizens abroad during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Dung, 58, is being investigated for "taking bribes", spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security To An Xo said Thursday.

Dung began his career as a diplomat in 1991 at the Department of Southeast Asian - South Asian - South Pacific Affairs. He was named Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2019.

His arrest is the latest development of an investigation into bribery accusations at the Consular Department under the foreign ministry and other local authorities.

Since the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Vietnam has organized around 800 repatriation flights and brought back over 200,000 citizens from over 60 countries and territories.

Many people had to buy very expensive tickets and underwent troublesome procedures for a flight home.

Several officials have since been arrested due to accusations of taking bribes, including head of the consular department Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, deputy head Do Hoang Tung, office head Le Tuan Anh and deputy head of the department’s citizen protection division Luu Tuan Dung.

Nguyen Dieu Mo, general director of the An Binh Air Services and Tourism Trading Company Limited, has been arrested to be investigated for giving bribes.

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