Former Bac Ninh province chair arrested for accepting bribes

Nguyen Tu Quynh, former Chairman of Vietnam’s northern province of Bac Ninh, has been arrested on charges of receiving bribes related to the AIC bidding scandal.

Nguyen Hanh Chung, former director of the provincial Department of Health, now a deputy vice chairman of Bac Ninh, has also been detained pending a further investigation into the same charge.

In relation to the corruption case at Advanced International JSC, AIC for short, the police also arrested Nguyen Van Nhuong, a former vice chairman of Bac Ninh, for abusing positions and power while on duty. Chairwoman of AIC Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan is accused of giving bribes.

The arrests came after the Ministry of Public Security's investigative agency expanded investigations into the management board of health projects under Bac Ninh’s Health Department, AIC and related institutions.

Before the arrests, the investigative agency had initiated legal proceedings against and detained several suspects of the management board and AIC for further investigation into bidding violations.

Over the past two years, former executives and employees of AIC have been investigated for violating bidding regulations at localities and government agencies.

AIC chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan has been prosecuted and convicted in four cases but is still at large.