The Investigation and Security Agency under the Ministry of Public Security on Friday launched legal proceedings against and arrested Hanoi chairman Nguyen Duc Chung for an investigation into a case of appropriating documents containing state secrets.

The Supreme People’s Procuracy also approved a search warrant for Chung’s workplace and his residence in Trung Liet Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi.

Chung’s prosecution and detention were linked to a case of “appropriating documents containing state secrets.”

He is also being investigated for his responsibility in relation to the so-called Nhat Cuong case, referring to a technology firm and mobile phone vendor in the Vietnamese capital, and a case involving violations of regulations on the management and use of state assets in Hanoi, according to To An Xo, spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security.

On August 11, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc signed a decision to suspend the Hanoi chairman Chung from work for 90 days over his responsibility in the cases.

Chung was born in northern Hai Duong Province on August 3, 1967.

He has been chairing the People’s Committee of Hanoi since December 4, 2015 after more than a decade of rising through the ranks in the municipal Department of Police, of which he was named director in September 2012.

He was elected as deputy secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee in November 2015. The Politburo has also suspended him from this title.

Authorities search the residence of Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the People's Committee of Hanoi, August 28, 2020. Photo: Danh Trong / Tuoi Tre

Previously, Chung’s chauffeur and two other suspects had been arrested for “appropriating documents containing state secrets,” in relation to the Nhat Cuong case.

Legal proceedings have been launched against more than 20 defendants in the Nhat Cuong case so far.

Nhat Cuong’s general director, Bui Quang Huy, is facing accusations of heading a ring that smuggled a huge amount of electronic equipment and concealed revenue to the tune of trillions of Vietnamese dong. (VND1 trillion = US$43 million) 

Huy has also been charged with “violating accounting regulations, resulting in serious consequences” and “money laundering.”

He has fled Vietnam and been wanted internationally since May 2019.

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