On January 23, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency issued a decision to prosecute a criminal case of violations of regulations on management and use of state assets causing loss, waste and violations of accounting regulations causing serious consequences, occurring at Hai Ha Waterway Transport Company Limited (Hai Ha Company) and related units.

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Ms. Tran Tuyet Mai, Chairwoman of the Board of Members and General Director of Hai Ha Company.

The investigation agency decided to prosecute and issue an arrest warrant for the president of Hai Ha Petroleum, Ms. Tran Tuyet Mai, Chairwoman of the Board of Members and General Director of Hai Ha Company.

Initial investigation results determined that Ms. Tran Tuyet Mai directed employees to commit violations such as: not depositing the amount of money set aside for the price stabilization fund into the deposit account as prescribed, using the price stabilization fund money against the law, causing a loss of state assets of over 317 billion VND.

The defendants also established and used two accounting systems, made false statements, left them out of the accounting books, and did not declare and pay environmental protection tax on over 3.8 million liters of A95 gasoline sold in 2020, causing (provisional) damage to the state budget of over 15 billion VND.

The story about using the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund in Hai Ha has also been reported by VietNamNet after the bank overpaid the debt from this Fund.

Accordingly, on June 5, 2023, Hai Ha Waterway Transport Company Limited reported in writing that BIDV Bank - Long Bien Branch had automatically deducted nearly 270 billion VND from the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund account.

The enterprise affirmed that the debt collection "was not approved by Hai Ha Company due to non-compliance with the provisions of Decree No. 95/2021/ND-CP".

By August 31, 2023, the Ministry of Finance issued an official dispatch requesting banks to strictly comply with the provisions of Decree No. 95 of the Government.

Also on August 31, 2023, the Ministry of Finance sent a document to the State Bank to inform about the incident.

The Ministry of Finance requests the State Bank of Vietnam to direct commercial banks in the banking system and foreign bank branches legally operating in Vietnam - where there are key petroleum traders registered to open accounts for the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund - to comply with the provisions of Decree No. 95/2021/ND-CP dated November 1, 2021 of the Government.

After many months of hard work, in November 2023, BIDV Long Bien Branch returned nearly 270 billion VND of debt from the petroleum price stabilization fund account to Hai Ha in early November.

However, Hai Ha is not the only unit using the Price Stabilization Fund (BOG) against regulations.

According to the conclusion of the Government Inspectorate, from the application of measures to establish a price stabilization fund regularly and continuously, not in accordance with the Law on Prices; the BOG Fund management agency still shirks responsibility; lacks regulations, coordination rules, and assignment of tasks between the presiding agency and the coordinating agency (the Ministry of Finance presides over and coordinates with the Ministry of Industry and Trade) in managing the BOG Fund, inspecting and supervising key traders in implementing legal regulations for the BOG Fund, the management of the BOG Fund has not been strictly ensured.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade has not promptly handled violations of the BOG Fund by key traders when the Ministry of Finance has decided to impose administrative sanctions... The State Bank of Vietnam has not issued a document guiding commercial banks to manage the BOG Fund in accordance with the functions and tasks of the bank.

This resulted in 7/15 petroleum suppliers using the BOG Fund for the wrong purpose of price stabilization, not transferring it to the BOG fund account but leaving it in the business's regular payment account for many periods before returning it to the BOG Fund with the amount of 7,927 billion VND.

Another oil and gas giant was also named by the Government Inspectorate when it transferred the amount of money set aside and spent into the account of the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund, but then transferred it to the company's payment account for use with a total amount of over VND 2,551 billion.

According to the Government Inspectorate, the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not promptly considered and handled the suspension of business operations or revoked the Certificate of eligibility to act as a petroleum wholesaler under its authority for enterprises that have been sanctioned by the Ministry of Finance for administrative violations many times. That has caused the BOG Fund to be continuously appropriated by wholesale traders and misused for the purpose of stabilizing petroleum prices.

Why are oil and gas giants allowed to owe thousands of billions of dong in taxes? A series of oil and gas companies owe thousands of billions of dong in taxes, making the public wonder, "Why are they allowed to owe so much?"