Former chief government inspector Tran Van Truyen, 64, is currently subject to scrutiny over all his properties following growing questions about his huge real estate holdings, the Party Committee of southern Vietnam’s Ben Tre Province said Thursday.

>> Vietnam sets up 11 teams to scrutinize anti-corruption activities>> Vietnam, Japan discuss anti-corruption in ODA-funded projects >> Vietnam nabs another railway official over alleged $780,000 Japanese graft After announcing a decision to audit the properties of the ex-senior official on July 11, the Communist Party Central Inspection Commission has sent an inspection team to the province to help verify the origin of Truyen’s huge assets, the committee said.

The audit is scheduled to last for 90 days from that date, the provincial Party Committee Inspection Commission said. The inspection came after local media published public opinions that expressed doubt about Truyen’s luxurious real estate holdings in Ho Chi Minh City and Ben Tre, the native province of the ex-chief inspector. Truyen, who is also a former member of the Communist Party Central Committee, served as head of the Government Inspectorate for four years starting 2007.

The public has also raised questions about the fact that Truyen had appointed over 100 officials to different positions during his term before he retired in 2011.

Only from March 2011 to August 2011, Truyen made as many as 60 appointments.

Media reports said that Truyen owns an extravagant villa sitting on a land plot covering 16,000 square meters in Ben Tre’s Son Dong Commune.

He reportedly has a large house in the central area of Ben Tre and a number of villas in wealthy Thao Dien Ward in District 2 and the high-end Phu My Hung area of District 7, both in Ho Chi Minh City. Earlier, at a meeting with Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong, many residents in Hanoi questioned the origin of Truyen’s assets and asked for verification.

In reply, Trong said the Communist Party Central Secretariat had directed the Central Inspection Commission to inspect Truyen’s properties. 

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