The spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affair (MOFA) has said that Trinh Xuan Thanh, who acted as former chair of state-run PetroVietnam Construction (PVC) and fled to Germany, is still serving a jail term in Vietnam. 
MOFA spokeswoman Le Thi Thu Hang. Photo: MOFA
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Hang made the statement at the MOFA’s press conference on November 8 when answering a question raised by a Reuters reporter if Vietnam and Germany were discussing to send Trinh Xuan Thanh back to Germany.
The spokeswoman affirmed that Vietnam treasures the relationship with Germany and working with the European country to strengthen the bilateral ties.
In September 2016, Vietnamese police released an international wanted notice to Trinh Xuan Thanh for his “deliberately violations of state’s regulations on economic management, causing serious damages.”
On August 3, 2017, Thanh appeared on the most important news bulletin of the Vietnam Television (VTV) saying that he himself did frivolous activities and needed to return to Vietnam to face the trial. In addition, the VTV posted his “petition for confession” dated on July 31, 2017 in which Thanh said he returned voluntarily to seek leniency.
Earlier on August 2, 2017, international news agencies quoted the German Federal Foreign Office as saying that some Vietnamese agencies and the Vietnamese embassy in Germany involved in the kidnapping of Trinh Xuan Thanh in Germany.
The MOFA’s spokeswoman rejected the news on the kidnapping.
On February 5, 2018, a Vietnamese court issued a life sentence to the 52-year-old man for his “deliberate violations” and “embezzlement” at the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) and PVC.
In another move, the MOFA’s Deputy Minister Bui Thanh Son visited Germany on November 2, 2018 at the invitation of German State Secretary Andreas Michaelis. State media reported that the two senior diplomats discussed different measures relating to partnership in trade, investment, and culture.
Currently, Germany tops Vietnam’s importers in the European Union with the two-way trade of US$8 billion in the first three quarters of this year.
