Arrested exec at graft-plagued Vinashin accused of pocketing $18.6m

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The latest twist in the sad and sorry tale of Vietnam’s national shipping company and shipbuilder, Vinashin, this week saw the arrest of a former sales manager who had, on the paltry earnings of a shipping line rep, managed to accrue 40 properties and five luxury cars. Prosecutors allege that he and Vinashin’s chief executive colluded to fix vessel prices artificially high. In one case a secondhand Italian vessel was acquired for $67.6m and retired after just 39 voyages. Vinashin’s debt pile is currently sitting at $4.5bn.