On August 18, Nguyen Ba Hoan, the former Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, began his trial at the Hanoi People's Court, facing accusations of soliciting bribes totaling 16.3 billion VND. Hoan stated that 10 billion VND of this amount was a traditional gift for the Lunar New Year, insisting that he accepted money but did not create difficulties for businesses.

Hoan, along with eight subordinates from the Department of Overseas Labor Management, is being prosecuted for accepting bribes exceeding 30 billion VND after allegedly complicating processes and creating unnecessary permits to extort money from companies. During the trial, he acknowledged that he had heard about the corruption among officials but claimed he had not received any complaints during his tenure.

The prosecution alleges that Hoan was aware of his subordinates' corrupt practices but chose to ignore them while accepting kickbacks of around 100 million VND per application, which is approximately 25-40% of the total amount. Hoan admitted to accepting a total of 5.7 billion VND from both his subordinate and businesses, acknowledging that this was indeed bribery. However, he insisted that the 10 billion VND received during holidays was merely a customary gift.

Hoan argued that other leaders also accepted gifts from friendly businesses, viewing it as a cultural tradition. The prosecution, however, contends that this amount should be classified as bribery since he was in charge of the department. Hoan requested the court to reconsider the classification of the funds he received.

Despite the allegations, Hoan maintained that he followed the proper procedures in processing applications for workers going to South Korea for shipbuilding (E7 visa). He claimed to have received gifts of thanks from two company directors for expediting their applications but insisted that all processes were conducted according to regulations.

Hoan emphasized that he had thoroughly checked the applications before forwarding them for approval, asserting that the Minister was the only one authorized to approve and sign the permits. He attributed the creation of unnecessary permits to his subordinate, who he claimed acted independently without proper reporting.

As the trial continues, Hoan's family has reportedly borrowed money to repay 15.8 billion VND, along with additional funds seized during the investigation, which he claims should be returned to settle debts.