A British businessman is alleged to have conspired to bribe Vietnam's former central bank governor by helping to put his son through university, a London court was told on Monday.
Prosecutors say that William Lowther, 73, from Carlisle, conspired with five other men to bribe Le Duc Thuy, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, by helping his son enter a course at Durham University in 2003 and by paying over GBP20,000 (1m baht) in tuition and accommodation fees.
The Financial Times reports that prosecutors claim the assistance was a concealed bribe to help secure contracts or act as a reward for past contracts awarded by the State Bank of Vietnam to Australia-based Securency Proprietary Lts for the production and supply of polymer banknotes.
Mr Lowther was a non-executive director of Securency, which signed 29 contracts with the State Bank of Vietnam between 2002 and 2008, worth a combined total of GBP125m.
Mr Lowther denies one charge of conspiracy to corrupt. The case continues.