The Supreme People's Procuracy has just issued an indictment to prosecute 14 defendants in the case that occurred at the International Progress Joint Stock Company (AIC Company), the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Planning and Investment, and the Ho Chi Minh City Center for Biotechnology (CNSH).
Among them, former Chairwoman of AIC Company Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan was prosecuted for two crimes: bribery and violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences. Former Director of the Center for Biotechnology Duong Hoa Xo was prosecuted for bribery.
Former President of AIC Company Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan
According to the case file, in 2006, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee approved the investment project to purchase equipment for 12 laboratories of the Center for Biotechnology. In 2014, the Department of Planning and Investment approved the project, in which the cost of purchasing equipment was more than 425 billion VND. By 2017, the project was adjusted, the cost of purchasing equipment increased to more than 468 billion VND.
The project is divided into 3 phases with 10 packages, implemented from 2015 to 2019. AIC Company and related companies "monopolized" 8 packages, causing a loss of more than 94 billion VND.
"The company will send you a thank you gift "
The indictment determined that around April 2014, at an inauguration ceremony, Ms. Nhan met and asked Mr. Xo to create conditions for AIC Company to participate in the project of purchasing equipment for 12 laboratories.
Ms. Nhan promised that "the company will send a thank you gift to Mr. Xo and his brothers". Mr. Xo understood that if he helped AIC, the company would spend money on him and the staff at the Center for Biological Resources, so he agreed.
After Mr. Xo gave the green light, Ms. Nhan directed her subordinates to meet, discuss, and agree with Mr. Xo that AIC Company would build a list of equipment, ensuring that this enterprise would enjoy a profit equivalent to about 40% of the value of each bid package.
Proposal to prosecute former AIC Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan in the 4th case
Because the policy of "taking over" the bid packages had been agreed upon by Ms. Nhan and Mr. Xo in advance, the staff of these two people at AIC Company and the Center for Biotechnology coordinated to build the project's equipment list. The design list prioritized the equipment that AIC Company and its "allies" had strengths in.
On its side, AIC will arrange for many other companies to act as "blue team" and "red team". These companies submit their applications with the intention of "paving the way" to help AIC and the companies designated by AIC win the bid.
Notably, AIC Company's advantage came not only from the collusion of the defendants of the investor, but also from the assistance of consulting and valuation units.
When conducting the valuation, the valuation company's staff did not work independently, did not survey the market, and did not verify the quotation information. Instead, this group used the catalog and unit prices provided by the Center for Biotechnology (in connection with the AIC) to issue the valuation certificate.
Illegal certificates were used and included in the file as a basis for price appraisal, helping Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan and her accomplices inflate the prices of bidding equipment.
Defendants Duong Hoa Xo (left) and Tran Thi Binh Minh
Relationships "nourished" by bribes
The indictment of the Supreme People's Procuracy shows that the relationship between former AIC Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan and former Director of the Center for Biological Resources Duong Hoa Xo was "nourished" by bribes amounting to tens of billions of dong.
AIC Company is headquartered on Tue Tinh Street, Hai Ba Trung District, Hanoi and has a representative office in Ho Chi Minh City. As Chairwoman of the Board of Directors and General Director, Ms. Nhan has full authority to decide on the company's revenue and expenditure. The others are just hired workers.
To manage foreign revenue and expenditure, Ms. Nhan established a Financial Secretariat. The revenue and expenditure of this department were not recorded in the accounting books of AIC Company, but were recorded separately under the direct direction of Ms. Nhan.
After colluding with individuals at the CNSH Center to win the bid, Ms. Nhan directed the accounting department at the AIC Company headquarters in Hanoi to transfer money to the southern office many times. The money was then withdrawn, and Ms. Nhan's subordinates came to meet and give it to Mr. Xo 6 times, for a total of 14.4 billion VND.
After receiving the money, Mr. Xo gave it to several other individuals at the Center for Social Sciences and Humanities and the Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City. The defendant kept more than 11.3 billion VND for personal use.
According to the Supreme People's Procuracy, in addition to Mr. Xo, Ms. Tran Thi Binh Minh, former Deputy Director of the Department of Planning and Investment of Ho Chi Minh City, assisted in Ms. Nhan's violations. Ms. Minh was the one who approved the project adjustment even though it had not been appraised yet, in order to promptly allocate capital for the Center for Natural Resources and Environment.
The prosecution agency accused Ms. Minh of knowing that Mr. Xo arbitrarily approved adjustments to the equipment list and executed the contract without submitting it to the competent authority to adjust the project and adjust the budget...
However, the female deputy director did not request to review and handle the violations of the Center for Biological Resources and Environment to prevent damage to the budget, did not organize a meeting with the Department of Finance and the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as proposed by the specialist, but still directed her subordinates to submit the budget for appraisal and approval.
The above chain of actions created conditions for the CNSH Center and AIC Company to legitimize the price increase of the bid packages. In return, Ms. Minh illegally benefited 1.9 billion VND, including 1 billion VND given by Mr. Xo (from the bribe money received from Ms. Nhan) and 900 million VND directly given by Ms. Nhan's subordinates.
During the investigation, the prosecution agency is currently holding a total of more than 25 billion VND, including 11.5 billion VND paid by Mr. Xo, 800 million VND paid by Ms. Minh, and more than 12 billion VND paid by companies related to the case...
4 cases related to Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan
Although she is on the run, former Chairwoman of AIC Company Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan is still being prosecuted in four cases.
In addition to the above case at the Center for Biotechnology, at the end of 2022, as the mastermind of the case of violating bidding regulations and accepting bribes that occurred at Dong Nai General Hospital, Ms. Nhan was sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Hanoi People's Court.
In October 2023, Ms. Nhan was sentenced by the People's Court of Quang Ninh province to 10 years in prison for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences, in the violation of equipment supply at the provincial Maternity and Pediatrics Hospital.
In December 2023, Ms. Nhan continued to be prosecuted for violating bidding regulations, in a case that occurred at the Vietnam Computer Emergency Response Center (VNCERT) under the Ministry of Information and Communications.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/cuu-chu-tich-aic-nguyen-thi-thanh-nhan-dung-tien-thau-tom-8-goi-thau-ra-sao-185240526155750701.htm
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