Hanoi (VNA) – Five more people were prosecuted on March 17 and 18 forsuspected violations of regulations on the management and use of public capitalcausing losses and wastefulness and violations of regulations on landmanagement as police have expanded the investigation into Phan Van Anh Vu-relatedcase.

TheInvestigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security commencedlegal proceedings against Nguyen Ngoc Tuan (born in 1958), former Vice Chairmanof the People’s Committee of Da Nang city and former Director of the municipalDepartment of Construction, for charges of “violations of regulations on themanagement and use of public capital causing losses and wastefulness” and“violations of regulations on land management”, under Articles 219 and 229 ofthe 2015 Penal Code.

Phan Xuan It (bornin 1954), former Deputy Chief of the municipal People’s Committee Office; andLe Anh Tuan (born in 1959), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Da NangShip Chandler Corporation; and Phan Minh Cuong (born in 1971), former Directorof the I.V.C Limited Company, and General Director of the 79 Construction JointStock Company, were prosecuted for “violations of regulations on the managementand use of public capital causing losses and wastefulness”, under Article 219of the 2015 Penal Code.

Criminalproceedings were also launched against Nguyen Dinh Thong (born in 1954), formerDirector of the Da Nang Land Exploitation and Management Company, for thecharge of “violations of regulations on land management” in line with Article229 of the 2015 Penal Code.

In addition, allthe men were given house search warrants. Nguyen Ngoc Tuan, Phan Xuan It, LeAnh Tuan and Nguyen Dinh Thong were banned from leaving their places ofresidence.

Meanwhile, PhanMinh Cuong was put into temporary detention to serve the investigation.

Earlier, onJanuary 30, the People’s Court of Hanoi sentenced Phan Van Anh Vu (also knownas Vu Nhom), Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bac Nam 79 ConstructionCompany and former Chairman of the Nova Bac Nam 79 Company, to 15 years in jailfor “abusing position and power while performing duties” under Article 356 ofthe 2015 Penal Code.

Vu, born in1975, is a former Senior Lieutenant Colonel and deputy head of a division atthe General Department V of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

According to theindictment of the procuracy, while operating the Bac Nam 79 Construction andNova Bac Nam 79 Companies, Phan Van Anh Vu, under the name of the MPS, askedministries, sectors, and local administrations to rent land to him as well astransfer to him the right to use land and property on land of public housingand land projects in prime positions in Da Nang city and Ho Chi Minh City,which was not in line with State regulations.

He then went onto make them his own properties or those of his relatives, transferred them, orput them under shared ownership with other people to earn illegal profits.

Under the first-instancejudgement, Vu, with the highest role in the case, has to bear responsibilityfor a loss of over 135 billion VND to the State.-VNA