HANOI: Vietnam issued arrest warrants for 14 bankers and took two more into custody on Tuesday after accusing them of causing losses totalling hundreds of millions of dollars in the scandal-tainted sector.

The communist government has been on the warpath against wrongdoers in an industry plagued by favouritism and dodgy loans — part of a broader drive against corruption in the country.

A total of 16 people from various private and government-owned banks are accused of deliberate misconduct, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said on its website without elaborating.

The bankers allegedly colluded with the private Vietnam Construction Bank to skirt the law to secure millions in loans, causing $660 million in losses, state media reported.

The group “deliberately violated state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences”, MPS said.

The two most senior bankers named are Tram Be and Phan Huy Khang from Sacombank, one of the country’s leading private banks.—AFP