Investigators at the Ministry of Public Security have written to Thanh Hoa and Quang Nam provinces asking for documents and information about their repatriation flights during the Covid pandemic for an expanded investigation.

Criminal proceedings were launched against Nguyen Quang Linh, Assistant Standing Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, on September 27 for allegedly taking bribes in the scandal related to COVID-19 repatriation flights.

The Party Central Committee’s Secretariat has decided to expel Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung from the Party for violations he committed relating to the organization of repatriation flights for Vietnamese citizens abroad during the pandemic.

The amount of money in the case of giving and receiving bribes at the Consular Department (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) is up to hundreds of thousands of US dollars.

The Transport Ministry said that Investigation Police Agency has asked the ministry to provide a list of "rescue" flights to repatriate Vietnamese citizens stranded overseas during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Investigation Security Agency has prosecuted a case of taking bribes at the Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs while licensing the firms that conducted repatriation flights for Vietnamese people.