Vietnam oil exec turns himself in after months on the run

HANOI: A former oil executive accused of gross mismanagement at one of Vietnam's largest state-run firms turned himself into police Monday after months on the run, officials said.
Trinh Xuan Thanh vanished from Vietnam in August after he was accused of causing US$150 million (RM642.23 million) in losses at PetroVietnam Construction (PVC), a subsidiary of the country's largest state-run oil conglomerate.
He is one of the highest ranking officials to be sought by the communist government in recent years, as the administration wages an anti-corruption drive to polish its image and clean up bloated state enterprises.
The 51-year-old oil tycoon was apparently overseas for medical care, with some reports saying he had fled to Germany.
Police issued an arrest warrant for Thanh in September.
He "turned himself in at the criminal department under the Investigation Agency on Monday," the Ministry of Public Security said in statement on their website, providing no further detail.
Thanh was removed as PVC chairman in 2013 but was later appointed to a number of senior government postings, including as deputy head of Mekong Delta's Hau Giang province.
He has been a marked man ever since he was spotted driving a pricey Lexus with a state license plate in May 2016, sparking public outrage over inappropriate use of public funds.
At least four of Thanh's former colleagues are under police custody pending investigation on the same charge of "intentionally violating state regulations on economic management causing serious consequences", according to state media.
Earlier this year, one of the country's top communist leaders Dinh La Thang was sacked after he was accused of mismanagement during his time at the head of scandal-tainted PetroVietnam.
Vietnam's administration in place since last April has vowed to crack down on endemic corruption and clean up its vast and inefficient state-run sector.
But analysts say punishments are often the result of political infighting rather than a genuine commitment to reform.
Transparency International ranks Vietnam 113 out of 176 on its 2016 corruption index, worse than its Southeast Asian neighbours Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia. — AFP