HANOI – A court in Vietnam has handed lengthy jail terms to two former chairmen of Danang city, accused of economic mismanagement, state media reported.

Tran Van Minh and Van Huu Chien were sentenced to 17 and 12 years in prison, respectively, by Hanoi People’s Court, reported Tuoi Tre newspaper. Minh was the chairman of Danang, Vietnam’s top tourism destination, from 2006 to 2011, while Chien was chairman from 2011 to 2014.

The pair were accused of violating regulations on state asset and land management to illegally sell several state-owned land slots to businessman Phan Van Anh Vu, causing losses of up to 22 trillion dong ($US949.38 million) to the state budget, the report said.

Vu, who fled to Singapore seeking passage to Germany but was arrested in Vietnam two years ago, was sentenced to 25 years in prison on Monday for violating state regulations on land management, according to the report.

Vu, also known as “Aluminium Vu”, had earlier been sentenced to decades in prison at other trials for deliberate disclosure of state secrets and abusing power to appropriate property.

The court also sentenced 18 other people to between 1.5 and 6 years for their involvement in the case, the report said.

Reuters