Sure, I can assist with that. ## How Were the Six Medical Equipment Procurement Packages in Bac Ninh Province Divided Between AIC and Song Hong Companies?

Splitting the Six Contracts

As reported by Tien Phong, the Supreme People’s Procuracy has just issued an indictment charging Mr. Nguyen Nhan Chien (former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Bac Ninh) and Mr. Nguyen Tu Quynh (former Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh Province) with “taking bribes.”

In the same case, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan (Chairman of AIC Company) was indicted for “Giving Bribes.” Her subordinates, Mr. Nguyen Hong Son (former Deputy General Director of AIC Company) and Mr. La Tuan Hung (General Director of Song Hong Company), were charged with “Violation of bidding regulations, causing serious consequences.” The remaining seven defendants were prosecuted for one of the three aforementioned crimes.

According to the Procuracy, from 2006 to 2008, the People’s Committee of Bac Ninh Province approved the investment project for the renovation and construction of six district-level general hospitals (including Gia Binh, Yen Phong, Thuan Thanh, Luong Tai, Que Vo, and Tien Du) and assigned the Project Management Board for Health Construction Works (under the Department of Health) as the investor.

In terms of project management, the investor directly implemented the project with a total capital of over VND 497 billion, sourced from the state budget and other funds.

In 2013, the six projects had basically completed the construction items and continued to implement the procurement and installation of medical equipment but lacked capital. The Prime Minister then assigned a plan to supplement the government bond capital for unfinished projects in Bac Ninh Province with more than VND 800 billion.

In February 2014, Mr. Nguyen Luong Thanh (former Vice Chairman of Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee) signed a decision to supplement the capital for the six hospital projects, totaling VND 461 billion (including VND 87 billion for the Tien Du Hospital Project, VND 88 billion for Luong Tai, VND 56 billion for Thuan Thanh, VND 91 billion for Yen Phong, VND 74 billion for Que Vo, and VND 65 billion for Gia Binh).

When the capital was available, from July to November 2015, defendant Nguyen Van Nhuong (former Vice Chairman of Bac Ninh Provincial People’s Committee) signed six documents approving the plan for selecting contractors for the six medical equipment procurement packages.

Knowing this, the late Mr. Dang Tien Phong (Chairman of the Board of Directors of Song Hong Company) contacted Mr. Tran Van Tuynh (Director of the Project Management Board) to “set conditions” for Song Hong Company to win all six hospital projects.

At the same time, former AIC Chairman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan also met with Tuynh regarding these six projects.

Knowing that Ms. Nhan had “powerful” connections in the central government, Mr. Tuynh discussed with the group of provincial leaders and agreed to split the projects. Song Hong Company would implement three packages for the General Hospitals of Que Vo, Yen Phong, and Tien Du districts, while AIC Company would execute the other three packages for the General Hospitals of Gia Binh, Luong Tai, and Thuan Thanh districts.

Bid Rigging and Bribery

During the implementation, Mr. La Tuan Hung colluded with Mr. Tran Van Tuynh to use different companies owned by Hung to participate in the bidding process, inflate prices, and win three packages worth more than VND 126 billion, causing a loss of VND 22.8 billion to the state budget.

In return, Hung and his accomplices at Song Hong Company gave Tuynh VND 6 billion as a “thank you.” Tuynh then distributed VND 1 billion each to former Secretary Nguyen Nhan Chien and former Chairman Nguyen Tu Quynh and presented a gift worth VND 300 million to former Vice Chairman Nguyen Van Nhuong.

In the AIC group, Ms. Nhan instructed Mr. Nguyen Hong Son (former Deputy General Director) to directly appoint companies belonging to the AIC ecosystem to participate in the bidding process, direct employees to establish “green soldiers” and “red soldiers” dossiers to limit competition, and coordinate with the investor to engage in bid-rigging, ensuring that AIC won the three packages totaling over VND 126 billion, causing a loss of VND 25.8 billion.

As the projects neared completion, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan personally or through her subordinates offered bribes to the group of Bac Ninh provincial leaders.

According to the indictment, from 2014 until her retirement in 2020, on various occasions and during the Lunar New Year holidays, the former AIC Chairman visited the office of former Secretary Nguyen Nhan Chien 13 times, each time giving him between VND 500 million and VND 3 billion. In total, Mr. Chien received VND 13 billion from Ms. Nhan. Thus, throughout the case, Mr. Chien received bribes totaling VND 14 billion from AIC Company and Song Hong Company, part of which he spent, and the rest he has returned.

Former Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, Mr. Nguyen Tu Quynh, admitted to receiving more than VND 8 billion from Song Hong Company and the Chairman of AIC.

The remaining defendants, who are former leaders of departments and sectors in Bac Ninh Province, received bribes ranging from hundreds of millions to billions of VND. They have all returned the money and rectified the consequences of their actions.