Many former leaders of Vietnam's Finance Ministry disciplined

The Central Inspection Committee has disciplined many former leaders of the Ministry of Finance and proposed disciplining former Minister Dinh Tien Dung for violations related to Van Thinh Phat Group and AIC Company.

In a release issued on Saturday, the committee stated that the ministry’s Party leadership had violated the principle of democratic centralism and working regulations; lacked responsibility, and showed loose leadership and direction.

As a result, the ministry and a number of organizations and individuals violated laws and regulations in state management, advising, and issuing mechanisms and policies related to issuance and trading of private placement corporate bonds, including those of Van Thinh Phat Group and An Dong Company.

There were also violations in state budget management related to AIC Company and businesses in the AIC ecosystem.

The above violations “have caused serious consequences which are difficult to remedy, leading to risks of big loss and waste of state budget and damages to bond investors”.

This negatively affected the business environment as well as social order and safety, causing bad public opinions and undermining the reputation of Party organizations and State management agencies “to the point that they must be disciplined”.

The main responsibility for the above violations and shortcomings belongs to the Ministry of Finance’s Party leadership for the 2016-2021 term; Dinh Tien Dung, Politburo member, Hanoi’s Party chief and former Minister of Finance; Vo Thanh Hung, Deputy Minister of Finance; and former deputy ministers of finance Huynh Quang Hai, Do Hoang Anh Tuan and Vu Thi Mai; and a number of other Party organizations and Party members.

The Central Inspection Committee decided to warn the General Department of Customs’s Party leadership for the term 2015-2020; the Party leaderships and Party units of some other agencies under the Ministry of Finance for the terms of 2015-2017, 2017-2020 and 2020-2022.

The committee issued warnings to former Deputy Minister of Finance Huynh Quang Hai; Pham Van Truong, director of the State Budget Department; Nguyen Truong Giang, director of the Department of Finance and Public Administration; Nguyen Duong Thai, former deputy director of the General Department of Customs; Pham Van Viet, former director of the finance and administration agency under the General Department of Customs.

Former Deputy Ministers Do Hoang Anh Tuan and Vu Thi Mai; Deputy Minister Vo Thanh Hung; Phan Thi Thu Hien, director of the Department of Finance of Banks and Financial Institutions; and Le Ngoc Khoa, former director of the Planning and Finance Department were reprimanded.

The Central Inspection Committee asked competent authorities to consider disciplining the Ministry of Finance’s Party leadership for the 2016-2021 term and former Minister Dinh Tien Dung.

Dung, 63, comes from Hoa Lu district, Ninh Binh province. He is a member of the 13th Politburo; a Party Central Committee member for the 11th, 12th, and 13th terms; a delegate of the National Assembly for the 14th and 15the terms.

Dung was Minister of Finance from June 2013 to March 2021. From April 2021 until now, he is Hanoi’s Party chief.