Province chairman arrested for receiving bribes

Tran Van Hiep, 58, has been arrested by anti-corruption police forces for receiving bribes, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security To An Xo announced Tuesday.

Police, along with personnel from the Supreme People’s Procuracy of Vietnam, raided Hiep’s home on Yersin Street, Da Lat, at around 3 p.m. that day to arrest him and search the residence.

The arrest comes as the latest development in a high-profile case of bribery and abuse of power at the Dai Ninh ecological resort and commercial urban area.

Hiep has been the Lam Dong chairman since November 2020.

Previously, police also arrested Nguyen Ngoc Anh, head inspector in Lam Dong, to be investigated for receiving bribes.

Also arrested was Tran Bich Ngoc, head of the department of monitoring inspections, handling complaints and preventing corruption under the Government Office, for abuse of power.

Ngoc was found to have used her position to do things that did not align with her duty and mission when it came to inspections at the Dai Ninh project, “incurring damage to state interests.”

An investigation into the suspects’ alleged illegal activities is ongoing.

In 2020, the government inspectorate proposed ending the operations and seizing the lands of three projects that violated land and investment laws, including projects by the Saigon-Dai Ninh tourism investment company.

The Dai Ninh ecological resort and commercial urban area, spanning over 3,595 ha, includes 1,050 ha of rented forest area. It has a total investment cost of VND25.243 trillion ($1.04 billion).

The project was carried out from 2010 to 2018. But by now, there are only a few temporary structures at the site, and hundreds of hectares of forests have been either destroyed or encroached on.