Vietnam Votes in New President.

Yesterday, the Vietnamese parliament voted To Lam to be the next president. Vietnam has been going through a period of massive political turmoil in recent months. According to an article in Barron’s, Lam is an anti-corruption crusader who has allegedly used his anti-corruption committee in parliament to remove anyone he sees as a threat to his political aspirations. According to a report on Aljazeera, Lam was the only candidate on the secret ballot; hence, he was a shoo-in for election. Given the nature of politics in Vietnam recently, it would not shock me if Lam was forced out of office sooner rather than later.

Head of Vietnamese Parliament Resigns in Ever-Widening Corruption Scandal.

On Friday, the head of the Vietnamese Parliament resigned in another blow to Vietnamese political stability. Vietnam is a country that has recently been embroiled in an ever-growing list of corruption scandals. According to a report in the AP, Vuong Dinh Hue resigned shortly after his deputy, Pham Thai Ha, was charged with abuse of power. There is no indication that Hue has been involved in corruption, despite investigators stating that he “violated party regulations.” It appears that Vietnam’s political future will remain uncertain if senior leaders continue to resign due to corruption allegations.

Vietnam Sentences Lan to Death Over Fraud.

Last Week, the Vietnamese real estate magnate Troung My Lan was sentenced to death after being found guilty in a massive financial fraud trial. Vietnam is a country that has been plagued by corruption, particularly in and around the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an AP report, Lan was illegally involved with the Saigon Joint Stock Commercial Bank and set up 2,500 loans, which caused the bank to lose $27 billion. Lan grew famous in Vietnam by founding the real estate firm Van Thinh Phat. The Ho Chi Minh City court leveled such a harsh sentence because Lan was at the head of a well-organized criminal network, and there was no chance of her repaying the court-ordered $26 million to the bank. According to Al Jazeera, her lawyers have 15 days to appeal the death sentence.

Update on Vietnam Corruption.

Vietnam’s President Vo Van Thuong resigned today after being caught up in a long-running corruption scandal. Vietnam has been in the middle of a wide-ranging Anti-Corruption drive for several years. According to the AP, Thoung was the second president in two years to resign from his post, which, for a country striving to be more democratic, is not a good look. This comes shortly after an ally of Thoung, the governor of the central Vietnamese province Quang Ngai, resigned from his post due to allegations of corruption. While this anti-corruption campaign shows no signs of stopping anytime soon, concerns about political stability will grow if more Vietnamese politicians get arrested.

Ericsson’s ongoing corruption scandal

The Swedish telecommunication company Ericsson is facing the prospect of being fined again by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In 2019 Ericsson was fined $1 billion for breaching the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). It is important to note that the DOJ can fine Ericsson, a Swedish company because they are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Ericsson was found guilty of handing out bribes and operating illicit slush funds to expand their business. According to an article by tech website Fiercewireless.com, Ericsson bribed officials in six countries, Vietnam, China, Djibouti, Indonesia, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia. On top of that, early last year, there were reports that Ericsson may or may not have paid a bribe to someone affiliated with ISIS to provide telecom equipment to Iraq.

Last week, a Reuters article revealed that Ericsson would be fined another $206 million for not adhering to its original agreement with the DOJ. According to a statement by the DOJ, Ericsson breached the DPA (Deferred Prosecution Agreement) by violating the agreement’s cooperation and disclosure provisions. This means Ericsson was not upfront with the DOJ about their financial activities. As a result, Ericsson must be overseen by an outside compliance professional for a further two years. In many countries where Ericsson operates, corruption is simply part of doing business. However, Ericsson didn’t heed the DOJ’s warning and is now facing a stiffer financial penalty that could have been avoided.

Vietnam’s Ongoing COVID Corruption Scandal.

In recent weeks The Vietnamese government has been conducting a widespread anti-corruption crackdown. The head of the communist party, Nguyen Phu Trong, is driving this crackdown. According to an article by The Washington Post, two deputy prime ministers in Vietnam have resigned because their staff members have been detained on corruption charges. The allegations involve taking bribes during the COVID pandemic. One staff member was alleged to have taken bribes while purchasing COVID test kits, and another staff member was alleged to have taken an illegal payment from a transport company repatriating Vietnamese citizens who lived abroad. This is on top of a former deputy health minister being sentenced to four years in prison for being involved in a counterfeit medicine scheme.

Recently, an article by Aljazeera reported that the President of Vietnam, Nguyen Xuan Phuc resigned from his post after an internal Communist Party investigation. Phuc was said to have “taken political responsibility as leader when several officials, including two deputy prime ministers and three ministers, committed violations and shortcomings, causing very serious consequences .” An article in The Guardian stated that Phuc’s resignation might also be tied to political infighting in the Communist Party. It was also reported in an article by Radio Free Asia that the head of the agency related to vehicle registration was arrested on charges of taking bribes from the directors of regional vehicle registration centers across the country. It is clear that more high-profile names will likely be caught up in this mess.