Vietnam's first move to prosecute a former politburo member widens the country's crackdown against graft to appease a restless public and protect fast economic growth.
Police arrested former lawmaker and Communist Party official Dinh La Thang earlier this month over crimes he is suspected of committing as board chairman of the giant state-run oil firm PetroVietnam, Vietnamese news media say.
The man who was voted out of the ruling Communist Party’s politburo in May joins a list of other officials in state firms who authorities are targeting in an extensive 2017 anti-graft campaign. The campaign is aimed at easing public criticism of corruption and protecting economic growth of about 6 percent per year since 2012, experts say.
Thang, 57, is Vietnam’s most high-profile “political casualty” in a broader anti-corruption effort. He is charged with “deliberate violation of state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences” over suspected violations and mismanagement at the oil firm.