Hanoi: A Vietnamese former state oil executive who was allegedly kidnapped from Germany was on Monday jailed for life for embezzlement, in the highest-profile corruption trial to target the Communist country’s business and political elite.
The blockbuster trial involving 21 other officials, including an ex-politburo member, has gripped a country where the affairs of the powerful are normally kept secret. But Vietnam’s conservative leadership is waging a massive anti-communist sweep that mirrors China’s crackdown on graft.
Trinh Xuan Thanh, the former head of state-run Petro Vietnam Construction was sentenced to “14 years for mismanagement and life in prison for embezzlement”, according to state-run VNExpress news site.
The jury said “no-one at PVC dared use money with the wrong purposes” without Thanh’s direction, according to VNExpress.
