Viet officials on trial over Covid-19 flight bribes

More than a dozen Vietnamese officials went on trial in Hanoi on Dec 24 for alleged corruption over repatriation flights during the Covid-19 pandemic, a scandal that saw 54 people jailed in 2023.

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The case is part of a major anti-graft drive that has led to the resignation of a president and two deputy prime ministers in a country where political changes are usually carefully orchestrated.

In 2023, 54 officials and business people were found guilty of receiving, offering or acting as the go-between for bribes that state media said totalled US$9.5 million (S$12.9 million).

They included four former senior officials at the ministries of foreign affairs, health and public security, who were handed life sentences.