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German authorities have ordered a Vietnamese spy to leave the country in response to the alleged kidnapping of an oil executive who sought asylum in Berlin.
Trinh Xuan Thanh is said to have been abducted in Germany on July 23, a day before he was due to appear at a hearing about the asylum request.
The former executive at state oil company PetroVietnam had requested permission to stay in the country after facing charges of financial mismanagement in Vietnam and leaving the country 10 months ago, sparking an international manhunt.
Police in Vietnam say Mr Thanh turned himself in on Monday, but have given no explanation as to why he allegedly decided to return home and hand himself in.
Authorities in Germany claim he has been kidnapped and have given a Vietnamese intelligence officer 48 hours to leave the country in response.
Germany's foreign ministry said it would look at further action against Vietnam after what it described as an "unprecedented... breach of German and international law".
There has so far been no mention of the German claims or Mr Thanh's situation from the Vietnamese government or in state media since Berlin's intervention.
Mr Thanh, 51, was a former high flyer at PetroVietnam Construction JSC, part of the state energy company PetroVietnam.
He was the subject of an outcry in mid-2016 when he was found to have a luxury Lexus car with a government licence plate, in a country where officials are expected to live modestly.
The head of the Communist Party, Nguyen Phu Trong, ordered an investigation into his promotions at the company despite losses of $150m at PetroVietnam.
Mr Thanh went on sick leave last year and travelled abroad, with his whereabouts remaining unknown until he turned up in Germany.
After Germany's kidnap accusation, some residents in Hanoi said they were unable to access social network sites, including Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Nguyen Quang A, a retired computer scientist and vocal government critic, described the alleged kidnapping on his Facebook page as "stupid" and said it would cause severe diplomatic consequences.
He said on Thursday that someone had tried unsuccessfully to hack his Facebook account 16 times overnight.
Vietnam has stepped up measures in recent months to silence bloggers and critics.
(SKY NEWS)
