Thayer Consultancy Background Briefing:

ABN # 65 648 097 123

Vietnam: Public Security Officer
Charged with Revealing State
Secrets
Carlyle A. Thayer
January 3, 2018
May we have your comment on the intriguing case of Phan Van Anh Vu, the fugitive
businessman being detained in Singapore? Apparently he fled Vietnam and was
trying to claim asylum in Europe.
Q1. Do you think this case is similar to Trinh Xuan Thanh?
ANSWER: The two cases have some elements of similarity. Both Trinh Xuan Thanh
and Phan Van Anh Vu sought to avoid arrest in Vietnam by fleeing to Germany and
seeking asylum. German law does not permit extradition to countries where a death
penalty could be imposed. But Anh Vu was charged under Article 263 of the Penal
Code and this only imposes lengthy sentences from two to fifteen years.
Thanh was successful until he was kidnapped and forcibly returned to Vietnam in
July 2016. Anh Vu had his passport cancelled while he was in Singapore and was
therefore detained by local authorities in late December 2016 for “offences under
the Immigration Act.” Singapore does not have an extradition treaty with Vietnam
but Anh Vu could be returned to Vietnam under provision in Singapore’s Immigration
Act.
The charges brought before the two individuals differs, however. Thanh was charged
with mismanagement leading to corrupt practices of persons under his supervision
while CEO of PetroVietnam. Anh Vu was charged with revealing state secrets.
Q2. If Anh Vu is brought back to Vietnam, how will the arrest have an impact on
Vietnamese politics?
ANSWER: Anh Vu’s will have an immediate impact of both the Ministry of Public
Security (MPS) and in Da Nang. Anh Vu reportedly worked as a Senior Lieutenant
Colonel for Division 5 of the MPS, the agency responsible for kidnapping Thanh. His
German lawyer wrote a letter to the German Embassy in Singapore Thanh would
provide German authorities “valuable information about [Thanh’s] kidnapping…
even more.”
The lawyer’s letter to the German Embassy in Singapore requested approval for Anh
Vu’s to travel to Germany under rules that allow a foreign national to enter “to
safeguard the political interests of the Federal Republic of Germany” under clause 22
of the Residence Act.
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On December 20, 2016, the Ministry of Public Security’s Security Investigation

Agency issued an arrest warrant for Phan Van Anh Vu for “intentional disclosure of
state secrets” under Article 263 of the Penal Code. Police later raided Anh Vu’s home
but he had already fled. This charge carries lengthy prison sentences depending on
the severity of the offence (see below).
On December 26, the vice chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee, Nguyen
Ngoc Tuan, issued a directive to various departments to suspend all transactions and
freeze ownership of assets of four individuals including Anh Vu.
Anh Vu was identified as the chairman of the Board of Directors of Bac Nam
Construction Joint Stock Company, chairman of the Board of Nova Bac Nam 79 Joint
Stock Company (Ho Chi Minh city), and chairman of the Board of Sunrise Bay Da
Nang. Anh Vu, as a property developer, may have knowledge of or involvement in
property scandals that led to the sacking of the party boss of Da Nang city, Nguyen
Xuan Anh in October 2016.
Penal Code:

Article 263.- Deliberately disclosing State secrets; appropriating, trading in and/or

destroying State secret documents

1. Those who deliberately disclose State secrets or appropriate, trade in and/or

destroy State secret documents in circumstances other than those defined in Article
80 of this Code, shall be sentenced to between two and seven years of
imprisonment.

2. Committing the crime and causing serious consequences, the offenders shall be
sentenced to between five and ten years of imprisonment.

3. Committing the crime and causing very serious or particularly serious

consequences, the offenders shall be sentenced to between ten and fifteen years of
imprisonment.

4. The offenders may also be subject to a fine of between ten million dong and one
hundred million dong, a ban from holding certain posts, practicing certain
occupations or doing certain jobs for one to five years.

Suggested citation: Carlyle A. Thayer, “Vietnam: Public Security Officer Charged with
Revealing State Secrets” Thayer Consultancy Background Brief, January 3, 2018. All
background briefs are posted on Scribd.com (search for Thayer). To remove yourself
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Thayer Consultancy provides political analysis of current regional security issues and
other research support to selected clients. Thayer Consultancy was officially
registered as a small business in Australia in 2002.
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