Who is Colonel Nguyen Minh Phuong, the "Crown Prince of Public Security"?

Nguyen Minh Phuong is nicknamed "The Crown Prince of the Ministry of Public Security," which sounds ironic, but the reality is even more terrifying.

Anyone wishing to approach the Minister cannot avoid going through the "gateway" of Colonel Nguyen Minh Phuong, secretary to Minister of Public Security Luong Tam Quang.

Phuong was not only Luong Tam Quang's secretary for many years, but also held a much more important position – one could say that if assistant Pham Thai Ha was the "key keeper" of National Assembly Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue, then secretary Nguyen Minh Phuong was the "key keeper" of Luong Tam Quang, even before Quang became Minister of Public Security.

Before Phương left his wife and three young daughters, he confided everything that happened at work to his wife. For example, he would sometimes send 3 to 5 Patek Philippe or Richard Mille watches to various contacts to resell in a single month, or 9 to 12 pairs of Louis Vuitton or Gucci shoes a month.

Those were gifts, and all the smaller envelopes, Luong Tam Quang gave to his wife. As for the larger sums of money, like a suitcase "containing two bottles of wine," Quang entrusted them to Phuong for safekeeping at their apartment in the Vincom Ba Trieu building, Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi.

Since Luong Tam Quang's coronation and entry into the Politburo, Nguyen Minh Phuong has changed his mind and forbidden his ex-wife from using his name to ask for favors. Currently, Nguyen Minh Phuong's ex-wife and three daughters are living in Ho Chi Minh City, being cared for and educated by their maternal grandparents.

Weak social awareness, solid professional skills, shallow thinking, poor ethics – what was Colonel Nguyen Minh Phuong's role in managing the Secretariat Office? Phuong was trusted and valued by Luong Tam Quang, but conversely, did Phuong also use Minister Luong Tam Quang as a tool to make money, and intend to wait for the right moment to climb to the pinnacle of power?

Many people within the Ministry of Public Security couldn't even distinguish whether Minister Luong Tam Quang or Secretary Nguyen Minh Phuong was more powerful, because Phuong directly influenced and pressured Minister Luong Tam Quang to assign and appoint officials in localities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Nghe An, Hue, and Da Nang. These are places that can bring in enormous incomes – a department head position can fetch 15 billion VND, a district police chief 11 billion VND, and a head of PC 02 or PC 03 can earn between 2 and 5 million US dollars.

Specifically, the Director of the Hai Duong Provincial Police, Colonel Bui Quang Binh (born in 1978, from Thai Binh province), gave Phuong 15 million US dollars to help him get the position of Director of Department A04 (Economic Security Department). The current Director is Lieutenant General Nguyen Dinh Thuan (from Ha Nam province) – Thuan is nicknamed "Those Who Like to Threaten" because he often threatens to prosecute and arrest state-owned enterprises. Because of this, Thuan is involved in many scandals related to extorting money from businesses, including the case involving Nguyen Van Hau (Hau Phao). Thuan is currently awaiting disciplinary action and is highly likely to be expelled from the police force.

It's worth knowing more about Colonel Bui Quang Binh – Binh was expelled from school and spent 2 years and 6 months in drug rehabilitation while he was a student at the People's Police University. After "reforming," Binh was vouched for by Lieutenant General Nguyen Khanh Toan, former Permanent Deputy Minister of Public Security, to continue his studies.