Nguyen Duc Chung, chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, has been suspended from all positions for his involvement in several criminal cases under police investigation.

Nguyen Duc Chung, former chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee. Photo: Hoang Phong

Mr. Chung will be barred from holding both the position of Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee and Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee for 90 days from August 11. The decisions were made by the country’s most powerful body Politburo and the prime minister on the same day.

The suspension is aimed to “verify and investigate Nguyen Duc Chung’s involvement in some cases in accordance to the law,” Vietnam News Agency reported, citing the decisions.

Mr. Chung's suspension is due to his engagement in three cases, To An Xo, chief of the Officie of the Ministry of Public Security, told VnExpress.

The three cases include (1) “Smuggling, violations of accounting regulations causing serious consequences; money laundering; breaches of bidding regulations causing serious consequences” at Hanoi-based Nhat Cuong Co., Ltd; (2) “Violations of regulations on management and use of state assets causing loss and waste” in the Hanoi People’s Committee and relevant agencies; and (3) “Appropriation of state secret documents” in Hanoi.

Born in 1967 in the northern province of Hai Duong, Mr. Chung began his career as a policeman in 1997. He was promoted to director of the capital city’s police department before being elected to the position of Hanoi’s mayor in December 2015.