A number of big corruption cases in Vietnam will be prosecuted this year, including the scam related to Nguyen Duc Kien, one of the country’s most powerful tycoons.

Nguyen Duc Kien

The information was given by Head of the Central Internal Affairs Commission Nguyen Ba Thanh at a meeting with voters in Danang City on September 23-24.

The Ministry of Public Security has recently completed their year-long investigation into the violations by Kien, who was the founder of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB). Three major real estate assets owned by Kien and his wife have been seized.

The charges against Kien are as follows: Illegal business, extortion, asset appropriation, tax evasion and intentional breach of state regulations on economic management. These alleged crimes have had serious repercussions in Hanoi and HCM City.

The case has stirred up public concern over the past year due to its major size and the seriousness of the violations that involved several bank leaders.

According to Thanh, “The case of Nguyen Duc Kien will be brought to court later this year. The trial of many complicated cases need to be carried out in many phases, depending on the inspection results. The big cases with the inspection results announced will be on trial in June 2014,” he added.

Thanh received many voters’ questions about corruption issues. Voter Le Xuan Lan from Phuoc My Ward said fight against corruption should be more drastic, adding that rampant corruption is among reasons hindering the country’s development.

Meanwhile, Minister of the Public Security Tran Dai Quang was cited by the government website saying that inspection of corruption case in Vietnam National Shipping Lines (Vinalines) will be completed soon for the prosecution and trial scheduled to take place by the end of this year.