Recently, the Politburo and the Secretariat of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam decided to issue a disciplinary warning to former National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, and temporarily pardon former State President Vo Van Thuong.
Currently, the name of former State President Nguyen Xuan Phuc is a topic of interest. Phuc is facing the risk of being probed related to corruption and violations during his time holding leadership positions in the state apparatus.
Since January 2023, after being forced to resign as State President, Phuc has remained silent in public. However, recently, in the testimony of Mai Tien Dung – former Head of the Government Office, he said that he received instructions from his superior – Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc in handling petitions related to the case of Saigon Dai Ninh Company. The disclosure of this information has raised many speculations about the possibility that Phuc may be probed in the near future.
Previously, Phuc and his wife, Tran Thi Nguyet Thu, were accused of receiving hundreds of millions of USD in bribes from Truong My Lan – Chairwoman of Van Thinh Phat Group. At the same time, Phuc’s daughter, Nguyen Thi Xuan Trang, participated in and supported this enterprise in laundering billions of USD from Vietnam to Hongkong in the 2021-2022 period. According to insiders, these allegations are being investigated and handled by Vietnamese authorities to soon reach a conclusion.
Up to now, there has been no official information about whether Phuc will be probed or not. And Phuc’s political future is still a mystery, in the context of Vietnam’s current political situation with many extremely complicated manifestations.
According to international observers, the fate of depends entirely on the outcome of General Secretary To Lam’s power grab within the Party. At present, Lam has not yet grasped absolute power. The plan to seize political factions, such as Nghe An of Phan Dinh Trac, Ha Tinh of Tran Cam Tu, Quang Nam of Bay Phuc…, has not yet succeeded.
Previously, the prosecution of a former member of the “Four Pillars” like Nguyen Xuan Phuc was unprecedented. But recently, the Politburo and the Secretariat have decided to issue a disciplinary warning to former NA Chairman Hue. Could these be the opening signals of General Secretary Lam to continue targeting high-ranking officials within the Party?
That shows that Phuc’s political fate is more uncertain, and the day of his imprisonment seems much closer. The Party’s disciplinary process has clearly changed fundamentally. The Party Discipline, after considering the dismissal and removal of Hue, Thuong, and Phuc, has changed quite a bit. That is, there will be no forbidden areas, regardless of who that person is, as General Secretary Lam has affirmed.
At the same time, the handling of Phuc is said to be aimed at “killing the chicken to scare the monkey” so that from there it can create a precedent for General Secretary To Lam to consider the responsibility of other senior leaders in similar cases. But whether Lam will succeed or not depends on the will of the party’s Central Committee.
Among the retired senior leaders, Phuc is facing more legal troubles than his predecessors. The reason is said to be because Phuc is “alone” and lacks the support of factions within the Party. That will make him an easy target in the anti-corruption investigations of former police chief Lam.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
