Germany accuses Vietnam of abducting executive

A Vietnamese executive, which Germany says was kidnapped in Berlin, has reemerged on state television in his home country.

German authorities claim the former PetroVietnam Construction Company (PVC) chief Trinh Xuan Thanh was abducted by Vietnam's secret service and has condemned the kidnapping, CNN reports.

Thanh, however, said he had decided to return home to answer questions for alleged financial crimes.

"During my time as a fugitive, I realized that what I had (done was) wrong. I did not think carefully. I realized that I had to return to face the truth, to admit my mistakes. My family encouraged me a lot," he said.

 

According to CNN, Thanh "gave himself up" to Vietnam's Investigation Security Agency out of anxiety over the crimes he committed.

Thanh is a former state oil executive who has been accused by the Vietnamese government of "alleged violations of state regulations on economic management" which resulted in a loss of nearly US$142 million for PVC.

German authorities first announced on Wednesday that an asylum seeker had been taken from Berlin back to Vietnam against his will.

Vietnam's Foreign Ministry said they regretted Germany's accusations against their country.

"The abduction of Vietnamese citizen Trinh Xuan Thanh on German territory is an unprecedented and blatant violation of German and international law," Germany's Foreign Office said in a statement.

The Vietnamese ambassador was summoned to meet the state secretary of Germany's Federal Foreign Office, Markus Ederer, to address the allegations.

Ederer called on the Vietnamese government to allow Thanh to return so he could then be considered for extradition through the proper diplomatic channels.

In retaliation, Germany has ordered the official representative of Vietnam's intelligence services to get out of the country by Friday night, with the Foreign Policy statement citing that Berlin reserves the right to take further steps as required at the political, economic and development policy level.

Meanwhile, in a weekly government press conference in Berlin, German's foreign ministry spokesman Martin Schafer reiterated his country's condemnation of Vietnam's actions, CNN reports.