On December 15, the Investigation Security Department of the Hanoi Police Department announced the prosecution of Pham Van Long, Principal of Hanoi College of Tourism; Nguyen Tuan Ngoc, Head of the Student Affairs and Educational Quality Assurance Office; and Nguyen Van Sang, a specialist in the same department. All three face charges of abuse of power while performing official duties.

The case involves irregularities in the disbursement of state funds for students who participated in the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day (A80). The investigation began after Hanoi’s internal political security forces noticed social media posts accusing the college of lacking transparency in student payments.

$78,600 meant for students, but $8,200 was held back

In November 2025, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism approved a budget of 1,928,640,000 VND (approximately $78,600 USD) to pay 984 students, with each expected to receive 1,960,000 VND (around $80 USD) for their participation in the A80 celebrations.

Nguyen Tuan Ngoc then instructed Nguyen Van Sang to complete the paperwork to finalize the payment process. However, the payment forms intentionally left the amount fields blank where students were supposed to sign.

After collecting student signatures, Sang manually filled in the payment amounts later - adjusting figures to reflect training day rates. These altered documents were submitted to the college's accounting department to finalize the total payout of nearly 1.93 billion VND.

Students received half; the rest was diverted to staff

Before distributing the money, Sang reported a new payment plan to Ngoc. Under this scheme:

924,960,000 VND ($37,680 USD) was designated for students (just 940,000 VND or $38 USD per student)
801,089,800 VND ($32,640 USD) was allocated for food during rehearsals (440,000 VND per student)
202,590,200 VND ($8,240 USD) remained, which was proposed for use by school staff

Ngoc then informed principal Pham Van Long, who approved the diversion of the remaining $8,240 USD to be distributed among school officials later.

Based on the investigation and supporting documents, police determined that Long, Ngoc, and Sang colluded to abuse their positions during the fund disbursement process for personal gain.

The Hanoi Police Department is continuing to build the case and promises to prosecute those involved according to the law.

Tien Dung