Quelltext der Seite Vietnam Courts Sentences Ex-Hanoi Chairman To Jail Amid Crackdown...

<br>HANOI, Dec 11 (Reuters) - A Vietnamese court on Friday sentenced the former head of Hanoi's governing body to five years in jail for misappropriating secret state documents and misusing assets in a case that caused more than $40 million of losses to the state budget.<br> <br>In a verdict read to the court, a judge said Nguyen Duc Chung, 53, the former Hanoi People´s Committee chairman, was the main instigator in the case involving the alleged smuggling of electronic equipment through a technology company into Vietnam.<br> <br>The judge said the hiding of profits amassed by the company caused around 1 trillion dong ($43.24 million) of losses to the state budget.<br> <br>Reuters could not immediately reach Chung's lawyers for comment.<br><br>Chung had pleaded guilty at the start of the trial and he apologised to the Communist Party for his actions.<br> <br>Three other people,  [http://digichart.net/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=telegra.ph%2FWhat-Online-Gifts-Are-At-Mean-Into-The-Shopper-03-27 http://digichart.net/__media__/js/netsoltrademark.php?d=telegra.ph%2FWhat-Online-Gifts-Are-At-Mean-Into-The-Shopper-03-27] including a former policeman received prison sentences of between 18 months and 4 1/2 years over the case, said the judge.<br> <br>The once high-flying Chung, who had also been a former police chief of Hanoi, took up the position of chairman of Hanoi in late 2015.<br> <br>During his tenure, Hanoi successfully struck a deal to host Vietnam's first Formula 1 race, which was then cancelled following his arrest in August and due to the pandemic.<br> <br>His sentencing comes as the Vietnam government has stepped up its fight against corruption, with several senior officials arrested and jailed ahead of the Communist Party's five-yearly congress.<br> <br>Government critics say the corruption crackdown is politically motivated.<br> <br>($1 = 23,128 dong) (Reporting by Phuong Nguyen Editing by Ed Davies and Angus MacSwan)<br>