Vietnam police detain ACV's chairman in corruption probe: ACV

Vietnam police detain ACV's chairman in corruption probe: ACV

Vietnamese authorities have intensified a corruption investigation tied to the Long Thành International Airport project, with recent detentions of local officials overseeing land compensation and resettlement processes. Police in Đồng Nai Province arrested three leaders from Bình Sơn Commune, including Dương Ngọc Đức, acting chairman of the commune People’s Committee, and Lâm Hoàng Thanh Hải, chairman of the commune’s Việt Nam Fatherland Front Committee, to clarify their roles in alleged abuses. These arrests follow the detention of Lê Văn Tiếp, chairman of the Long Thành District People’s Committee and head of the district’s compensation council for the airport project, as well as charges against officials from the Long Thành District Land Development Center.

Investigators allege that falsified documents and irregularities in land verification and compensation approvals caused significant financial losses to the state budget, with over 10,000 files related to land acquisition seized during searches. The probe, which began in 2023, has also implicated three other individuals, including a land administration official, on charges of bribery and fraud. Authorities have urged those involved in improper payments to cooperate voluntarily to mitigate legal consequences.

The Long Thành project, managed by state-owned Airports Corporation of Vietnam (ACV), remains a flagship infrastructure initiative with a total investment of VNĐ336.6 trillion ($14 billion), aiming to alleviate congestion at Ho Chi Minh City’s Tân Sơn Nhất Airport and establish a regional aviation hub. Commercial operations for the first phase, featuring two runways and a 25-million-passenger-capacity terminal, are slated to commence later in 2026. The ongoing investigation underscores challenges in managing large-scale public projects amid efforts to curb graft.