Vietnamese police lieutenant general Nguyen Duy Linh could face the death penalty for taking many millions of dollars bribery from senior lieutenant colonel Phan Van Anh Vu or “Vu Aluminum.”
Vietnam’s state-controlled media reported the press conference of the Ministry of Public Security on the afternoon of Monday, June 21, in which, it was reported that Nguyen Duy Linh, the rank of lieutenant general, former deputy director of the General Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Public Security, was proposed to be prosecuted for the crime of “taking bribes” under Clause 4, Article 345 of the Criminal Code.
Clause 4 of the criminal law mentioned above is punishable by imprisonment of 20 years, life imprisonment, or death when “The bribe is money, property or other material benefits worth VND1 billion [$42,000] or more…”
On June 18, when reporting on the arrest of Gen. Nguyen Duy Linh three days earlier, the Lao Dong newspaper said that “Vu told him that he gave $500,000 the first time, the second time it was VND5 billion, $1 million in the third and fourth times each time, the investigation conclusion stated. On July 17, 2020, Vu changed his testimony and said “only twice gave cigars and reishi mushrooms.” He also claimed that he was “incited, guided, and beaten by the inmate. He could not sleep, eat, and was coerced to confess like this.”
Knowing that he was about to be severely punished, a few years ago, he saw the domestic press reveal on the Internet that, at the investigating agency, Phan Van Anh Vu said, December 17 and 18, 2017, Gen. Nguyen Duy Linh called him via Viber application before the case. The police general told Vu “Listen to me. Your case is very serious… you should travel far, try to go to Europe.”
After Vu Aluminum escaped to Singapore but was arrested at the border with Malaysia and brought back to Vietnam, he told many things related to the “missions” of collecting “golden land” in Da Nang, Saigon under the name of a company of the General Intelligence Department.
Because of that, a number of police generals, including senior lieutenant generals, deputy ministers, and general directors of this ministry, were arrested for covering up for Vu Aluminum’s business, allowing the officials to be bribed. Directly related to the Vu Aluminum case, three police generals Phan Huu Tuan, Tran Viet Tan, and Bui Van Thanh were sentenced to prison.
Meanwhile, Vu Aluminum went to court many times through different cases with a total sentence of 30 years in prison for “deliberately disclosing state secrets” and cases of witchcraft buying and selling, transferring houses and public land properties in Da Nang, Saigon, and some localities. Now, Nguyen Duy Linh is officially prosecuted.
According to newspapers in Vietnam, in the latest extensive investigation of the case, Phan Van Anh Vu was accused of “giving bribes” while Ho Huu Hoa, who lives in Quynh Luu district, Nghe An province, is accused of “brokering” and Gen. Nguyen Duy Linh, former deputy director of the General Department of Intelligence, is accused of “taking bribes.”
As for taking money from Vu Aluminum, Gen. Nguyen Duy Linh did not take money directly, but let his secretary receive it through Ho Huu Hoa’s intermediary because “Hoa, who practices feng shui, has a wide relationship, approach with the leadership of General Department of Intelligence.”
According to Thanh Nien newspaper, “Hoa was able to connect with Mr. Nguyen Duy Linh, deputy director of the General Intelligence Department of the Ministry of Public Security. According to the investigative agency, before August 23, 2018, after being arrested, Vu “aluminum” voluntarily declared many times that through his personal driver, he transferred VND5 billion to Hoa and 4 times transferred to Hoa the gift for Mr. Linh’s assistant.”
According to the source, “Vu “aluminum” also claimed to directly give $500,000 to Hoa to give to Mr. Linh. However, later, Vu denied the previous statements, saying that he did not give money but only gave cigarettes, cigars, and Korean reishi mushrooms.
Nguyen Duy Linh, when questioned at first, denied his relationship with Vu “aluminum.” However, he later admitted to having talked to Vu “aluminum” by phone under the mediation of Ho Huu Hoa and “directed the secretary to receive Vu’s gifts.” However, Mr. Linh only accepted his secretary to hold Vu Aluminum’s wine and cigars but “didn’t know the value, brand, and country of manufacture.”
Last April, Dan Tri reported the prosecution of Ho Huu Hoa with Vu Aluminum’s testimony of VND5 billion and then transferred it to General Linh’s secretary on August 17, 2017. After that, at another time, Ho Huu Hoa claimed to have transferred gifts and an amount of “about VND9 billion to VND10 billion” to Gen. Linh.
But on March 12, 2019, after being incarcerated, Mr. Hoa denied the previous statements, saying being “instigated by the investigator, instigated, forced the bow, guided the declaration and created evidence fake to accuse Hoa.” At the beginning of April 2021, Dan Tri newspaper also reported on the case that Vu Aluminum denied bribery and also said that he was forced to testify.
Now, all three are “recommended” to be prosecuted for the above crimes. Some news on social networks said that Gen. Nguyen Duy Linh is the son of Senior Lieutenant General Nguyen Van Huong, former deputy minister of the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam. The domestic press did not publish any photos of Gen. Linh.
During the past 4 years, at least 17 senior police officers from major general to general, from deputy director to deputy minister, have been imprisoned for gambling, taking bribes, to working. violate the regulations, abuse positions, and powers. In general, they are looking for ways to plunder bottomless pockets of greed when they have powers and intertwined relationships in the party machine and the dictatorial state.
Thoibao.de (Translated)
