Communist Party of Vietnam chief To Lam’s weaponization of the Ministry of Public Security to force the resignation of rivals, in the name of anti-corruption, has been well documented.
Between December 2022 and May of this year, eight members of the Politburo resigned, paving the way for Lam, the country’s former top cop, to succeed General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong following his death in July.
In each case, evidence of wrongdoing was presented in Politburo sessions, and each official was given a face-saving way out.
All were granted soft landings, with much of their wealth, corporate interests, and status preserved. None was brought to trial.
But that might be changing.
The actions are all Politburo decisions based on the recommendations of the Central Inspection Commission (CIC), the Central Committee’s investigative body that oversees corruption amongst central-level leaders.
The CIC can recommend four levels of disciplinary action to the Politburo: reprimand, warning, the loss of party positions, and expulsion from the party. It can recommend disciplinary action to entire party committees, as well.
In November, the CIC recommended that the Politburo give a warning to former National Assembly chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, who was forced to resign in April.
At that same session, the CIC decided not to recommend a verdict on former president Vo Van Thuong, who was forced out in March, citing health reasons.
Thuong is reportedly suffering from stage-3 lung cancer, but has been blocked from traveling for treatment overseas.
‘Severe consequences’
The CIC found that Hue and former Minister of Transportation Nguyen Van The had “violated Party and state regulations in regards to their duties, committed violations regarding anti-corruption, resulting in severe consequences and affecting the reputation of the Party and the state.”
The CIC continued their investigations in their mid-December session, which resulted in disciplinary action against three former top officials.
On December 13, the Politburo issued warnings to former Prime Minister and President Nguyen Xuan Phuc and former Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh.
Phuc was singled out for violating party and state regulations in the execution of his duties and responsibilities, “particularly in the areas of anti-corruption and combating misconduct.”
In addition, he violated party rules and engaged in “prohibited activities for members,” though it was left unsaid what those were.
Also disciplined was Truong Thi Mai, the former head of the CPV Secretariat and the highest-ranking woman in Vietnamese politics before her May 2024 resignation.
She received a reprimand and found to have “breached rules on controlling power in personnel matters, violated ethical codes for Party members, and failed to uphold exemplary conduct.”
Mai’s family has extensive corporate interests in healthcare, a sector that benefitted from the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
These punishments are all internal Communist Party disciplinary actions.
Why they matter is that, like in China, the party conducts its own investigation of senior officials before the judicial system gets a crack at them.
State prosecution looms?
While this does not mean that any of those individuals will face legal jeopardy, the door is now open for state prosecutors.
Charging a Politburo member is a rarity. There has only been one since the renovation period began in 1986: Dinh La Thang.
Another Politburo member from that era, Hoang Trung Hai, also received a warning, but was never charged.
Phuc’s case could be different, however
What is being investigated is a $1 billion eco-tourism development project in Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands that was being developed by Saigon Dai Ninh Joint Stock Company. Most of the funds of the barely started project appear to have been embezzled.
Both Phuc and former Deputy Prime Minister Binh had been implicated in the long-running corruption investigation into Mai Tien Dung, the former head of the Government Office.
Dung told authorities that he facilitated the project in Lam Dong at the behest of “superiors.” Phuc was the prime minister at the time and reportedly received a $3 million bribe to green-light the project.
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Sword of Damacles
Dung is falling on his sword for no one. The eco-project brought down three senior provincial officials in mid-2024.
The courts continue to investigate Saigon Dai Ninh, which has also been tied into the larger investigation into Truong My Lan.
In that scandal, 58% of that company was being sold to Lan’s company, Van Thinh Phat, though the owner tried to embezzle what Lan had paid him at the time of her arrest.
Lan was sentenced to death in 2023 for secretly controlling Saigon Commercial Bank (SCB) and directing over 90% of its loans to herself, Van Thinh Phat, and other affiliated companies, resulting in bank losses of some $24 billion.
Lan is currently trying to return three-fourths of her embezzled funds to stave off the death penalty.
Albeit tenuous, there is now a direct link between Phuc and the largest corruption case in the country’s history.
Lan is believed to have paid Phuc and his wife, Tran Thi Nguyet Thu, significant amounts of bribes.
Phuc’s wife and daughter, Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, are also being investigated for assisting Lan’s niece, Truong Khanh Hoang, then the acting director of SCB, of laundering money to Hong Kong.
In a separate case, Lan received a life sentence for money laundering.
In all of this, it’s important to understand that Phuc is not just a political rival of Lam, but also a commercial competitor.
Phuc’s family has a controlling stake in Trung Nam Group, with corporate interests that are in direct competition in almost every sector with Xuan Cau Holdings, the conglomerate owned by Lam’s younger brother To Dung.
The Sword of Damocles is now dangling above Phuc.
But it seems far more likely at this point that the former prime minister and president, along with several family members, is going to be criminally investigated.
A drowning man is about to be thrown an anvil.
Zachary Abuza is a professor at the National War College in Washington and an adjunct at Georgetown University. The views expressed here are his own and do not reflect the position of the U.S. Department of Defense, the National War College, Georgetown University or Radio Free Asia.