Nguyen Ba Hoan, along with Tong Hai Nam, former Director of the Department of Overseas Labor Management under the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs, and seven other individuals, have been recommended for prosecution by the Police Investigation Department for Corruption, Economic, and Smuggling Crimes (C03, Ministry of Public Security) on charges of receiving bribes.

Among the remaining suspects, Nghiem Quoc Hung, Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Hoang Long Company; Nguyen Duc Nam, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sona Company; and Nghiem Van Dinh, Director of Incoop3 Company, along with 8 others, have been recommended for charges of violating accounting regulations, causing serious consequences.

Currently, no one has been accused of offering bribes.

According to the police, 20 out of 21 defendants have made sincere confessions, expressed remorse, actively cooperated with investigators to clarify the nature of the case, and voluntarily compensated for the damages. However, Hoan was assessed as "not sincerely cooperating."

Nguyen Ba Hoan before his arrest. Photo: Chi Tam

Investigation findings indicate that Hoan served as Deputy Minister from 2020 until his arrest in 2025, overseeing the Department of Overseas Labor Management. This department held the authority to grant, renew, and revoke licenses for organizations sending Vietnamese workers abroad.

In 2022, as the South Korean labor export market began operating under the E7-3 Visa program, Hoan instructed Director Nam to establish a separate procedure for appraising and approving labor export contracts from businesses.

Following this directive, Nam created "sub-licenses" to complicate matters for businesses, according to accusations from the investigation agency.

The department demanded that businesses provide documentation proving the labor recruitment quota from the employer in South Korea at the competent level. In reality, this documentation was impossible to obtain.

Businesses had no choice but to seek Hoan's assistance to resolve these difficulties through "grease money." Hoan would receive between 100 and 200 USD for each labor export application.

From 2023 to 2025, Hoan received a total of 170,000 USD (approximately 4,3 billion dong) from the Chairman of Hoang Long, corresponding to 129 departing workers. Through the same method, Hoan also received 50 million dong from Sona.

Additionally, during holidays, Hoan received a total of 450,000 USD and 90 million dong from Hoang Long, Sona, and Incoop3 Companies to facilitate their operations.

Beyond the E7-3 Visa project for South Korea, Hoan's group is also accused of imposing numerous "private rules" to pressure businesses seeking labor export licenses to pay money. Hoan alone received 950 million dong from these activities.

According to various testimonies, the total amount Hoan received was 620,000 USD and 1,09 billion dong. Of this, C03 accused Hoan of receiving 170,000 USD and one billion dong in bribes (equivalent to 5,25 billion dong).

During a search of Hoan's office, police seized 25 envelopes bearing the names of businesses and individuals, totaling one billion dong and 156,100 USD.

Director Tong Hai Nam before his arrest. Photo: Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs

Regarding Director Nam, police determined he received 94,000 USD and 100 million dong (2,45 billion dong) from three labor export companies applying for the E7-3 Visa project. During holidays, Nam received 85,000 USD and 1,07 billion dong (3,195 billion dong) from these three companies as "thank you" money and for directing intervention in other matters.

In connection with assisting businesses in "obtaining labor export licenses," Nam received 38,000 USD and 4,65 billion dong (totaling 5,524 billion dong). After receiving the money, Director Nam gave Hoan 100 million dong per license, totaling 950 million dong, and 70 million dong to a ministerial secretary. After deducting expenses, Nam personally profited 2,7 billion dong.

C03 accused Nam of receiving nearly 8 billion dong in bribes and personally benefiting 5,6 billion dong.

During the investigation, the defendants and related individuals have collectively compensated a total of 52 billion dong. Of this, Hoan contributed 15,8 billion dong, and Nam 6,7 billion dong.

Concerning the group of company directors, C03 seized 4 real estate properties belonging to Hung's wife and him, with a provisional value of 220 billion dong. They also requested to freeze transactions on one apartment belonging to Nam and 3 other real estate properties belonging to defendant Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, a department head at Sona Company.

During a search of Hoang Long Company, police seized 39 billion dong, 10 gold rings, a gold "God of Wealth" figurine, a gold bracelet, and other items.

=>> List of 21 defendants

Pham Du