HCMC – The police have sealed and taken away four expensive cars from the private residence of the former chairman of Halong City, Pham Hong Ha, who has been detained on alleged charges of graft.

Ha, who also served as head of the Halong Bay Management Board of Halong City, Quang Ninh Province, has been accused of abusing his position as chairman of the Halong City People’s Committee for personal gains. On Saturday the police searched his home in the city for evidence and then sealed and took away four vehicles: Lexus LX570, Lexus ES300h, Mercedes-Benz E300 and VinFast Lux SA2.0, which cost a total of around VND20 billion (US$865,000). Ha is allegedly involved in a fraud and graft case at the river waterway management company RIMACO No 3, and the Halong Bay Management Board. An investigation found that RIMACO No 3 signed multiple deals from 2017 to 2021 to manage and maintain river waterways in Quang Ninh Province. The company also won a contract with the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration to regulate waterway traffic for the Chanh River bridge, as well as deals with other agencies. RIMACO No 3 executives were found to have forged documents to artificially inflate the workload, thus expropriating money from the State. They also conspired with several officials of the Halong Bay Management Board to get a favor in the signing of contracts to manage and maintain waterways and regulate boat traffic in Halong Bay.