Vietnam court sentences ex-minister to life in prison over graft

A court in Vietnam sentenced former information minister Nguyen Bac Son (2011-2016), to life in prison after finding him guilty of bribery and abuse of power.

Report informs citing TASS that the decision was made on Saturday by the People's Court of Vietnam's capital, which has been considering a high-profile corruption case involving two former ministers and ex-leaders of one of the country's largest mobile operators since December 16.

The court also sentenced 13 others, including his successor as head of the Ministry of Information and Communications, Truong min Tuan (2016-2018). The convicts were involved in a multi-million dollar loss to the state corruption scandal involving mobile operator Mobifone and private cable TV provider AVG.

Vietnamese authorities have been conducting a large-scale investigation into MobiFone since the beginning of 2018. A few years ago, the mobile operator, violating the rules of financial and economic activity of state-owned companies, acquired 95% of AVG shares and began to provide pay-TV services under its brand. Law enforcement agencies revealed that the transaction was carried out with numerous violations, resulting in damage to the state for more than 7 trillion Dong (over $300 million).