Prosecution of former Ben Tre Party Secretary and former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade
Báo Thanh niên•27/08/2024
Former Ben Tre Provincial Party Secretary Le Duc Tho and former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai, along with 12 other defendants, have been recommended for prosecution on five charges in the case involving Xuyen Viet Oil Trading, Transportation and Tourism Company Limited.
The Investigation Security Department (A09) of the Ministry of Public Security has just issued the conclusion of the investigation into the case that occurred at Xuyen Viet Oil Trading, Transportation and Tourism Company Limited (Xuyen Viet Oil) and a number of related agencies and organizations.
Prosecution recommended for 14 defendants.
In this case, A09 proposed prosecuting 14 defendants for offenses including violations of regulations on the management and use of state assets causing losses and waste; negligence causing serious consequences; bribery; receiving bribes; and abusing their positions and authority to influence others for personal gain. Specifically, Ms. Mai Thi Hong Hanh, Director and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Xuyen Viet Oil, was proposed for prosecution on two charges: violations of regulations on the management and use of state assets causing losses and waste, and bribery; Mr. Le Duc Tho, former Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee, was proposed for prosecution on receiving bribes and abusing his position and authority to influence others for personal gain; and Mr. Do Thang Hai, former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, was proposed for prosecution on receiving bribes.
Le Duc Tho
Photo: Ministry of Public Security
According to the investigation's conclusions, during the operation of the petroleum business at Xuyen Viet Oil, taking advantage of her position and authority as the company's representative and owner, and the authority granted by the State in managing and using the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund (BOG) and the task of collecting and transferring environmental protection tax to the state budget, Ms. Mai Thi Hong Hanh caused a total loss of 1,463 billion VND of state assets. Specifically, Ms. Hanh instructed employees to transfer BOG Fund money into her personal account instead of allocating it as required. This money was used by Ms. Hanh to purchase real estate, lend to friends; for personal expenses; and to bribe several individuals at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance , and the Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department… In addition, to evade inspections, Ms. Hanh instructed accounting staff to prepare 81 reports on the allocation and use of the BOG Fund, but the actual balances in the accounts did not match the figures.
Giving bribes worth tens of billions of VND.
Regarding the bribery allegations, A09 accused Ms. Hanh of bribing eight individuals with a total of US$1.265 million (over VND 29 billion) to help Xuyen Viet Oil obtain a renewed business license and receive banking support. According to the investigation's conclusions, from 2019 to 2020, when Mr. Tho was still Chairman of Vietinbank , Ms. Hanh bribed Mr. Tho twice, totaling US$600,000, to help extend credit limits and maintain credit limits for Xuyen Viet Oil.
Do Thang Hai
Photo: Ministry of Public Security
In 2021, Mr. Tho was appointed Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee. At this time, to enhance his own prestige, Mr. Tho proposed that Ms. Hanh establish a branch or subsidiary of Xuyen Viet Oil in Ben Tre to pay taxes and increase the province's budget revenue. In return, the company would be given favorable conditions to implement real estate, port, and tourism projects in the locality. Ms. Hanh subsequently established Viet Oil Joint Stock Company, and Mr. Tho instructed the bank to support her with loans and credit limits as requested. Favored, Ms. Hanh gave Mr. Tho gifts three times. The first time, she gave him a set of Honma golf clubs worth 1.1 billion VND and a Patek Philippe Plus watch worth 421,000 USD. The second time, at the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee Guest House, Ms. Hanh gave Mr. Tho 200,000 USD. In May 2022, on the third occasion, Ms. Hanh bought Mr. Tho a Mercedes Benz S450 Luxury car worth 6.7 billion VND. Regarding Mr. Do Thang Hai, A09 alleges that he received a bribe of 50,000 USD after helping Xuyen Viet Oil obtain a new license to import and export petroleum products in violation of regulations. Specifically, around June 2021, knowing that the company's license was about to expire, Ms. Hanh instructed her subordinates to contact and bribe officials and leaders of the Domestic Market Department (Ministry of Industry and Trade) and leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade to help facilitate the license renewal. Ms. Hanh then called Mr. Hai for help and was introduced by the former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade to contact Hoang Anh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Domestic Market Department, for guidance. Mr. Hai then called Mr. Tuan to instruct him to promptly review and resolve Xuyen Viet Oil's application.
From left to right: Mai Thi Hong Hanh and her subordinate Nguyen Thi Nhu Phuong
Photo: Ministry of Public Security
On September 20, 2021, following instructions, Mr. Nguyen Van Thang, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Branch of Xuyen Viet Oil, brought $300,000 to the Ministry of Industry and Trade headquarters to bribe Mr. Tuan and Mr. Tran Duy Dong, Director of the Domestic Market Department. However, before entering Mr. Dong's office to deliver the bribe, Mr. Thang embezzled $50,000, leaving only a bundle of money containing $250,000 and saying, "Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Ms. Hanh couldn't come to Hanoi; she sent gifts for you gentlemen," before leaving. Mr. Dong then gave Mr. Tuan $130,000 of this money. On November 12, 2021, Mr. Tuan led a delegation to inspect the conditions for granting a petroleum business license to Xuyen Viet Oil. Ms. Hanh instructed Mr. Thang to take Mr. Tuan for a "symbolic" inspection of a Xuyen Viet Oil gas station in Tan Phu District (Ho Chi Minh City), and also instructed him to bribe Mr. Tuan with $10,000. Afterward, Mr. Tuan signed a document confirming that Xuyen Viet Oil "basically met the conditions for re-issuance of its business license," without conducting a thorough inspection. During this inspection, Mr. Tuan also discovered that Xuyen Viet Oil had not established the BOG Fund as required, but due to repeated bribes from Ms. Hanh, he overlooked this, failing to investigate or propose corrective action. On November 19, 2021, based on a subordinate's proposal, Mr. Do Thang Hai signed and issued a license allowing Xuyen Viet Oil to continue its import and export of petroleum products. More than a month after the license was granted, Ms. Hanh went to Mr. Hai's office and offered the former deputy minister a $50,000 bribe as a thank you.
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