Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc reprimanded former Vice Chairman of the Government Office Le Manh Ha for the latter's involvement in the acquisition deal of private pay-TV firm Audio Visual Group (AVG) by state-run mobile carrier MobiFone.
Le Manh Ha, former deputy chairman of the Government Office. Photo: Zing.vn
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Ha, now retired, took the post of vice chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee between 2008 and 2015 before he was appointed to the Government Office’s vice chairman.
In another decision, the PM issued an admonition against Nguyen Trong Dung, incumbent deputy head of the Government Office’s Steering Committee for Enterprise Reform and Development, for his wrongdoings in the MobiFone-AVG deal.
The disciplines follow the punishment of some senior officials, including former minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son, former minister of Planning and Investment Bui Quang Vinh, former general director of MobiFone Cao Duy Hai, and former deputy general director Pham Thi Phuong Anh.
The officials were accused of involving in the overpaid acquisition in which public telco MobiFone bought 95% stake of private AVG for nearly VND8.9 trillion (US$386 million), causing a huge loss to the state budget.
Though obtaining insufficient information on the deal, the Government Office had sent written requests to the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Finance Ministry to get their feedback. The office even suggested the then-prime minister’s in-principle approval of the deal.
