Former Vietnam spy handed third jail sentence

A property magnate turned fugitive spy was jailed for the third time in Vietnam on Wednesday after a court convicted him of corruption over murky land deals that cost the state millions of dollars.

Phan Van Anh Vu was convicted as Vietnam's communist government widens a corruption crackdown that has already seen dozens of former high-flying officials, executives and businessmen put behind bars.

The 15-year prison sentence is Vu's third since the property magnate who moonlighted as an intelligence agent was arrested in Singapore and returned to Vietnam last year to face several corruption-related charges.

He was convicted over improper land sales in Danang and Ho Chi Minh City that generated losses for the state worth almost USD 50 million, according to state-controlled VNExpress.

"The sentence is too harsh. The court did not consider several factors that could have reduced the sentence," Vu's lawyer Nguyen Huu The Trach told AFP, adding he would appeal.

Vu was sentenced alongside two .