Receiving a bribe of 27 billion, former director 'thought it was sharing, didn't know it was illegal'

On the morning of January 4, the Hanoi People's Court continued to try 38 defendants in the case involving Viet A Technology Joint Stock Company (Viet A Company) and a number of ministries, branches and localities. The trial panel interrogated Mr. Pham Duy Tuyen, former Director of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of Hai Duong province.

Mr. Tuyen is one of six defendants prosecuted for bribery. According to the Supreme People's Procuracy's accusation, Mr. Tuyen received a bribe of up to 27 billion VND from Phan Quoc Viet, General Director of Viet A Company, a percentage of the money from selling test kits to Hai Duong.

Defendant Pham Duy Tuyen, former Director of CDC Hai Duong province

How did Viet A General Director confess to bribing officials?

"Just know how to work and work", but still receive 27 billion

In his testimony to the court, Mr. Pham Duy Tuyen said that when the epidemic first broke out in Hai Duong, the Ministry of Health sent 4 medical units to support the locality, but the results were not as expected. The reason was that collecting test samples and transporting them from Hai Duong to Hanoi, updating data, etc. were all very time-consuming, not meeting the requirements of "rapid epidemic prevention".

The above reality requires an on-site sampling and testing unit to serve the policy of blocking and isolating areas with Covid-19 infections. This is also the reason why Viet A Company participates in the fight against the epidemic in Hai Duong.

"Who proposed that Viet A return to Hai Duong?", the judge asked. The former director of the Hai Duong provincial CDC said that Phan Quoc Viet had initially contacted him, but the defendant said that this matter was under the authority of his superiors.

After that, in the meetings of the Provincial Steering Committee for Epidemic Prevention, the Provincial Party Committee and the Provincial People's Committee all requested that Viet A be included in the fight against the epidemic. Specifically, the direction of former Secretary Pham Xuan Thang and the announcement of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee.

According to Mr. Tuyen's testimony, because Viet A is the leading unit in testing, Phan Quoc Viet often participates in meetings of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Committee. As Director of the Hai Duong Provincial CDC, Mr. Tuyen has also repeatedly directed and coordinated staff to coordinate with this company in collecting samples for testing.

Continuing to answer the court, Mr. Pham Duy Tuyen said that due to the urgent epidemic situation, Hai Duong had advanced the kit from Viet A Company, then made legal documents for the shortened bidding. Mr. Tuyen directly signed 4 contracts, with a total amount of more than 147 billion VND.

The jury asked about the process of applying for the kit and then paying the money, was there any agreement between Mr. Tuyen and Viet A? The former director of CDC Hai Duong immediately affirmed that there was no discussion, "just doing and doing".

However, the reality shows that contrary to the above statement, Mr. Tuyen received from Phan Quoc Viet a total amount of up to 27 billion VND.

Former Secretary of Hai Duong Province Pham Xuan Thang

Controversy over the amount of "Tet gift" former Deputy Minister Pham Cong Tac received from Viet A

Caught and found out it was wrong

Regarding the receipt of money, defendant Pham Duy Tuyen said that after the first payment, Viet A Company proposed to deduct a percentage of the profit to share with Hai Duong CDC and those who have contributed to the prevention and control of the epidemic. The defendant saw this as just profit sharing, thinking that it did not violate the law, so he accepted. Only when he was arrested did he realize that he was completely wrong.

Notably, Mr. Tuyen stated that he borrowed the accounts of relatives and friends to receive money from Phan Quoc Viet and then withdrew it. Seeing this, the jury asked, "The defendant just stated that he thought he received the money correctly but transferred the money to another person's account number. Is this contradictory?"

In response, the former Director of CDC Hai Duong explained that if money was transferred to CDC Hai Duong's account, a detailed report on the disbursed amount would be required, so the money could not be withdrawn, so the defendant transferred the money to his personal account.

With the amount of 27 billion VND, Mr. Tuyen said that Viet A gave him the right to proactively "share" with those who contributed to the fight against the epidemic. Therefore, the defendant gave former Provincial Party Secretary Pham Xuan Thang 600 million VND and 50,000 USD, gave former Director of the Department of Health of Hai Duong province Pham Manh Cuong 7 billion VND, and gave more than 1 billion VND to some other individuals at CDC...

The jury asked why defendant Pham Manh Cuong was given more money than defendant Pham Xuan Thang. Defendant Tuyen said that defendant Cuong was his direct superior, had worked very hard in the fight against the epidemic, and had also supported the Hai Duong provincial CDC a lot in drafting documents requesting payment for test kits.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nhan-hoi-lo-27-ti-cuu-giam-doc-nghi-la-su-chia-se-khong-biet-pham-phap-18524010409284547.htm