Friday, March 28, 2008

Vietnam drops charges against former transport vice minister accused of corruption - International Herald Tribune

HANOI, Vietnam: Vietnamese prosecutors dropped their case against a former vice transport minister who was charged in one of the nation's biggest corruption scandals, state media reported Friday.
Prosecutors could not find enough evidence to press charges against Nguyen Viet Tien, the online newspaper VnExpress said Friday.
Prosecutors were not available for comment.
The former vice transport minister was arrested in April 2006 on charges of abuse of power and negligence of duties causing serious consequences. He was released on bail last October.
The scandal involved hundreds of thousands of dollars being illegally bet on European soccer matches, along with allegations of an elaborate cover-up involving bribery. The case drew extensive coverage by state-controlled media and forced then-Transport Minister Dao Dinh Binh to resign.
Eight people, including government officials and police, were sentenced to up to 13 years in prison in a trial last August.
The ruling Communist Party has made fighting corruption one of its top priorities. Dozens of senior government officials have been jailed for graft in recent yea

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