Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Police Agency (CIPA) has recently concluded its investigation and proposed the prosecution of eight individuals involved in a case at the Vietnam Education Publishing House (VEPH). The accused face charges under three different crimes.
Among them, Nguyen Duc Thai, former Chairman of the VEPH’s Members’ Council, is accused of “Taking Bribes.” Meanwhile, To My Ngoc, Chairman of Phung Vinh Hung JSC, and Nguyen Tri Minh, Director of Minh Cuong Phat Paper Co., Ltd., are charged with “Offering Bribes.”
The remaining five individuals are accused of “Violating regulations on bidding, causing serious consequences.” The investigation revealed that, from 2018 to 2021, Mr. Thai colluded and conspired with Mr. Minh and Ms. Ngoc to arrange and facilitate their companies’ inclusion in the shortlist of bidders for supplying paper to the VEPH.
As a result, Mr. Thai received VND 16.8 billion from Ms. Ngoc and VND 2 billion from Mr. Minh. The investigation agency determined that Mr. Thai’s actions constituted the crime of “Taking Bribes,” as stipulated in Clause 4, Article 354 of the Penal Code. The total amount of bribes received was VND 24.9 billion.
The accused in the case. Photo: Ministry of Public Security |
In their conclusion, the investigators stated that the purchase of paper for educational book printing is a regular activity for the VEPH, carried out annually. As paper costs account for 30-40% of the structure of textbook prices, buying paper at high prices would lead to increased book prices.
The competitive bidding process allowed the investor to decide on the shortlist, limiting the participation of qualified suppliers with better quality and lower prices. This lack of competition, fairness, transparency, and economic efficiency could result in potential harm to the state.
The investigation agency attributed this to the absence or lack of clear regulations on limit values for different forms of contractor selection. This loophole allowed enterprises to issue limit values much higher than those stipulated in the Law on Bidding for contractor selection methods such as competitive bidding and abbreviated competitive bidding.
The Ministry of Public Security’s Investigation Police Agency has recommended that state management agencies issue specific guidance on Clause 7, Article 3 of the 2023 Bidding Law. This guidance should clarify the limit values applicable to different forms of contractor selection as per the regulations.
Additionally, the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) has been advised to establish detailed supervision and control mechanisms for the VEPH’s regular purchasing activities. These mechanisms should ensure that controllers can directly monitor the entire bidding process and mandate reporting to the MOET in specific cases regarding the selection of contractors.
T.Nhung
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