Hanoi (AFP) – A $45 million corruption trial against 41 people including state officials began in Vietnam on Tuesday, part of the communist state's wide-ranging anti-graft drive.
The so-called "burning furnace" campaign against corruption has swept up dozens of senior government figures, including two presidents and three deputy prime ministers, as well as top business leaders.
In the latest case, a court in Hanoi began proceedings against 30 former officials of northern Vinh Phuc, Phu Tho and central Quang Ngai provinces.
Eleven others -- businesspeople and company employees -- are also accused of involvement in corruption that prosecutors say caused damage to the state worth more than 1.16 trillion dong ($44.6 million).
They are accused of offences including bribery, abuse of power, and violating laws on bidding and accounting.
Prosecutors say that between 2010 and 2024, chairman of the Phuc Son Group, Nguyen Van Hau, spent over $5 million bribing officials to win contracts in 14 multi-billion dollar infrastructure projects in the three provinces.
Hau brought suitcases of cash to the offices or private residences of the officials for the bribes, prosecutors say.
Former party chief of Vinh Phuc province Hoang Thi Thuy Lan received the biggest bribes from Hau, totalling almost $2 million dollars -- in suitcases weighing up to 60 kilograms.
In April, Vietnam jailed a former deputy minister of industry and trade for six years after finding him guilty of "power abuse" in a solar energy development plan.
Hoang Quoc Vuong, 62, had admitted to taking a $57,600 bribe to favour solar power plants in southern Ninh Thuan province, but his family had paid the amount back before the sentencing.