The defendants, former officials at Port 2 Customs Sub-department, claimed the bribery scheme had been in place for a long time and "no one knew who initiated it".

Former Vinh Phuc provincial Party Committee Secretary Hoang Thi Thuy Lan has appealed her 14-year prison sentence for accepting a 48 billion VND bribe from the Phuc Son Corporation.

14 individuals are accused of accepting bribes and exploiting their positions to facilitate fraudulent declarations and the illegal export of over 13,000 containers of timber.

Former Deputy Chief Justice of the High People's Court in Da Nang, Pham Tan Hoang, is accused of accepting bribes to reduce a murder sentence and alter a civil case ruling.

Doan Ba Nhut, director of PNE Environmental Center, and an employee are accused of forging 1,058 environmental monitoring reports for 100 organizations and individuals.

Nguyen Van Vi, known as Vi "Ngo", allegedly paid a former soldier 350 million VND to secure a reduced sentence for a close associate serving a life sentence for murder.

Following the 25-year prison sentence of former county party secretary Fu Xuehai, four officials are under investigation for aiding him in altering his records and concealing his criminal past.

Le Nam, a former official at the supreme people's court, allegedly promised to "expedite a lawsuit" for 26 billion VND, with 20 billion delivered in two cardboard boxes, prosecutors say.

The court is delivering the first-instance verdict in the case of former Phuc Son Corporation chairman Nguyen Van Hau, who gave 132 billion VND to several former provincial officials to win bids for 14 major projects.

One day before the court's verdict, Nguyen Van Hau (Hau "Phao") had $32.7 million in restitution paid by his company, exceeding the required amount by over $2.5 million, his lawyer said.

The Phuc Son conglomerate chairman wept as he recounted his impoverished childhood, affirmed the charges against him three times, and requested his lawyers to solely focus on mitigating circumstances during their defense.

Former Vinh Phuc provincial party secretary Hoang Thi Thuy Lan claimed she asked Phuc Son Group chairman: "Why are you giving me so much money?" after receiving 25 billion VND and one million USD.

The National Assembly passed the amended penal code on Tuesday, abolishing the death penalty for 8 crimes and allowing commutation of existing death sentences for these crimes to life imprisonment before July 1.

Accused of causing over 1.164 trillion VND in losses across 14 projects and contracts, Phuc Son Corporation Chairman Nguyen Van Hau listed substantial assets, asserting he could cover the damages within 5 days.