Ex-Hanoi chairman, Chung jailed 8 years for theft of $1.57m

A Vietnamese court has jailed former head of Hanoi’s governing body Nguyen Duc Chung, eight years for abuse of power, his second conviction in the crackdown on graft by the ruling Communist Party.

State media on Monday reported that Chung, 54, was found guilty of charges stemming from the siphoning of 36 billion dong ($1.57 million) from a public investment project, which he used to help a company owned by his family.

Chung was earlier in the year sentenced to five years in prison for misappropriating secret state documents and misusing assets, which caused more than $40 million of losses to the state budget.

His lawyer declined to comment on news of Monday’s verdict.

The once high-flying Chung, a former Hanoi police chief, became chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee in late 2015.

During his tenure, Hanoi successfully won the rights to host a Formula 1 race, which was later cancelled due to the pandemic.

His arrest last year came as the ruling party stepped up its fight against corruption