On July 29, the trial of 254 defendants in the case of violations at the Vietnam Registry Office entered its second week.
In the first week of the trial, the court examined the group of defendants who were former leaders and inspectors of the Registry Office, as well as defendants from the Block V and Block D Inspection Centers.
At the trial, the two former directors, Tran Ky Hinh and Dang Viet Ha, admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment. However, both claimed that they only accepted responsibility for the amount they personally gained and not for the entire amount of embezzled funds from the Registry Office.
Defendants Tran Ky Hinh and Dang Viet Ha were accused by the prosecution of turning a blind eye to the wrongdoing of their subordinates and instructing them to “pay off” a portion of the bribes received from vehicle owners each month. As a result, Hinh received bribes totaling over 7.1 billion VND, while Ha received over 8.5 billion VND.
Defendant Dang Viet Ha. Photo: DN |
In response to the court’s questioning about the act of asking defendant Lai Thai Phong (former Deputy Chief of Office of the Vietnam Registry Office) to give 100,000 USD to defendant Nguyen Van Chung (Director of ATS Company) to “find out” what the police were investigating at the inspection centers, Ha stated that he did so because he was panicked and not thinking clearly at the time.
While admitting to the crime, defendant Nguyen Van Chung claimed that he did not know why Phong gave him the money.
The presiding judge, Huynh Van Truc, challenged this statement: “Isn’t it illogical for you to accept money without knowing the reason?”
“I did ask him, but Phong didn’t tell me why he was giving me the money. It wasn’t until November 2022 that Mr. Ha called me and said that the Registry Office was being investigated by the police, and he asked me to find out what the issue was. That was when I asked Mr. Ha if he had given money to Phong to give to me, and he said no,” Chung explained.
 Defendant Tran Ky Hinh. Photo: Nguyen Hue |
Tran Lap Nghia, the defendant with the most private inspection centers in the case, was considered the key to breaking the case at the Vietnam Registry Office.
According to the indictment, the investigation initially discovered a vehicle with signs of modified walls and cargo compartments, leading to the detection of violations at the 62-03D Inspection Center (in Duc Hoa Ha commune, Duc Hoa district, Long An province), where Tran Lap Nghia served as the director.
The indictment stated that, at the beginning of 2021, due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the center’s income, Nghia instructed his staff to accept bribes from vehicle owners in exchange for overlooking violations during the inspection process.
As of October 2022, the 62-03D Center had issued certificates for 35,253 vehicles in violation of regulations, earning over 9.843 billion VND.
The investigation was expanded, and it was found that the 71-02D Inspection Center (in Ben Tre) and the 83-02D Inspection Center (in Soc Trang), both owned by Nghia, had similar violations to those at the 62-03D Center.
According to Nghia’s testimony during the investigation, in order to establish these inspection centers, he had to bribe Tran Ky Hinh, the former director of the Registry Office. The violations at Nghia’s centers eventually led to the exposure of widespread corruption within the Vietnam Registry Office.
 Defendant Tran Lap Nghia. Photo: Nguyen Hue |
When asked by the court about the number of times and the amount of bribes given to defendants Tran Ky Hinh and Dang Viet Ha, Nghia claimed that he could not remember.
Defendant Tran Van Chu, director of the 50-03V Inspection Center under the Vietnam Registry Office, was accused of allowing inspectors to accept bribes from vehicle owners during the inspection process and then using a portion of this money to “pay off” higher-ups in the bureau.
However, at the trial, Chu claimed that the bribery at the center was carried out by the inspectors themselves and that he did not instruct them to do so. Nonetheless, he admitted to giving a total of 200 million VND to defendants Hinh and Ha on occasions like holidays and that the source of this money was from the “donations” of the inspectors.
“I gave money to my superiors without any expectations. This was done out of the ‘tradition’ of superior-subordinate relationships,” Chu stated.
Thanh Phuong
Land auction violation case in Dong Anh: Additional two Hanoi officials indicted
After the court returned the file for further investigation into the case of former Chairman of Vimedimex Pharmaceutical Group, Nguyen Thi Loan, violating regulations on asset auction activities, the Prosecutor’s Office has indicted 2 more officials.
Indictment of Phuc Son Corporation Chairman Nguyen Van Hau
The suspects have been indicted for engaging in fraudulent activities, including forgery and manipulation, to conceal revenue and related assets outside the accounting books, causing significant damage to the State.
Phu Quoc Land Dispute Shooting: Appeals against Increased Sentences for 14 Defendants
Regarding the case of the shooting incident resulting in a fatality in Phu Quoc, Kiên Giang, the Provincial People’s Procuracy of Kiên Giang has recently filed an appeal to the Supreme People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City requesting an increase in the penalties for the 14 defendants, following their initial trial in January 2024.
