Vietnam - Ministry orders probe into Vinashin corruption

The Ministry of Public Security has referred seven law-breaking and corruption cases related to the state-owned Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group (Vinashin) to the police in 6 provinces and Hai Phong City for investigations, a source told Tuoi Tre yesterday.

The six provinces are Ha Tinh, Quang Ngai, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Yen Bai, and Quang Ninh.

These investigations will be carried out based on the recent conclusion of the Government Inspectorate about the law compliance of the group, the ministry’s security investigation agency said.

The Supreme People’s Court also asked the prosecutor’s offices in the seven localities to consider and approve prosecutions that will be proposed by the local police.

One of the cases is the intentional violation that caused a waste of about VND1 trillion (US$47.8 million) concerning two projects of the Ben Thuy Shipbuilding Plant in northern Ha Tinh Province.

Another case is related to the Dung Quat Shipbuilding Plant project in central Quang Ngai Province that caused a damage of VND59 billion.

One more case is the wrongful use of a loan of VND300 billion at the Cuu Long Vinashin Investment Joint Stock Company in the northern port city of Hai Phong.

According to the Government Inspectorate, law-breaking and corrupt acts in Vinashin in the past several years have resulted in a total debt of over VND86 trillion ($4.1 billion). In 2009 alone, the group suffered a loss of nearly VND5,000 billion.

The Ministry of Public Security has so far prosecuted nine top executives at Vinashin for “intentionally acting against the state’s economic management regulations and causing serious consequences.”

These former executives have been found causing a total financial loss of nearly VND907 billion, the Inspectorate said.

TUOI TRE

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