The Art of Bribery: How a $2 Million Dollar Scandal Unveiled the Dark Secrets of Vietnam’s Oil Industry

From November 20th to December 5th, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City held a first-instance trial for violations of regulations on the management and use of state assets, bribery, and abuse of power for gain, involving Mr. Le Duc Tho, former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Ben Tre, and 14 other defendants related to wrongdoings at Cross-Vietnam Oil Trading – Transport – Tourism Company Limited (abbreviated as Cross-Vietnam Oil Company).

In the case related to the Cross-Vietnam Oil Company, the Supreme People’s Procuracy has prosecuted Mai Thi Hong Hanh, the former Chairman and Director of the company, for two offenses: Bribery and Violation of regulations on the management and use of state assets, causing loss and waste.

According to the indictment, Cross-Vietnam Oil Company was purchased by Mai Thi Hong Hanh in 2005 when the company’s chartered capital was 50 billion VND. Just six years later, in 2011, the chartered capital had increased to 3,000 billion VND. By 2013, the company had expanded significantly with 15 branches, 6 retail outlets for petroleum trading, and 9 related companies.

In 2016, the Cross-Vietnam Oil Company was granted a license for the import and export of petroleum products by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, elevating the enterprise to the status of a petroleum business trader. From then on, Ms. Hanh gained recognition as a “tycoon” in the industry.

Investigations revealed that Ms. Hanh and the Cross-Vietnam Oil Company had taken advantage of their management of the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund to appropriate assets.

The indictment stated that, since 2016, Ms. Hanh had instructed her employees to disregard the regulations on the establishment of the Petroleum Price Stabilization Fund. The funds in the account were transferred from the company’s account to her personal account for private purposes.

In May 2023, Cross-Vietnam Oil reported a balance of 219 billion VND in the Price Stabilization Fund. However, in reality, the total balance in the three reported accounts was just over 2 million VND, resulting in a state budget loss of 219 billion VND.

Additionally, the Cross-Vietnam Oil Company was accused of violating regulations on the management of environmental protection taxes. From October 2021 to July 2022, the company collected 1,244 billion VND in taxes but failed to remit it to the state budget, instead transferring it to Ms. Hanh’s personal account for her use.

When the authorities investigated, out of a total of 36 accounts (17 personal accounts of Ms. Hanh and 19 company accounts), only a balance of more than 4 billion VND remained, rendering Ms. Hanh incapable of returning the embezzled tax money. The total loss to the state budget amounted to more than 1,200 billion VND.

Ms. Hanh used the embezzled money to purchase real estate, lend to others, and especially to bribe many officials to “bend the rules.”

The investigation determined that, from 2016 to 2022, Ms. Hanh had made 22 bribery payments totaling 31.5 billion VND.

Specifically, Ms. Hanh’s group bribed the following accused individuals: Do Thang Hai (former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade), Tran Duy Dong (former Head of the Domestic Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade), Hoang Anh Tuan and Nguyen Loc An (both former Deputy Heads of the Domestic Market Department), and Le Duc Tho (former Secretary of the Ben Tre Provincial Party Committee) with a total of over 1.2 million USD…

Mai Thi Hong Hanh is also accused of giving luxurious Patek Philippe watches to several officials. Among them, Mr. Le Duc Tho received 4 watches (one worth approximately 1 billion VND), a set of Honma golf clubs worth 1.1 billion VND, a luxury Mercedes S450 car valued at 6.7 billion VND, and 200,000 USD in cash. Additionally, during his tenure as Secretary of Ben Tre Province, Mr. Tho received money and gifts from Ms. Hanh on several occasions, including birthday greetings and congratulations on his new position… The total value of these gifts amounted to approximately 22.1 billion VND.

Thus, the total amount of bribes and gifts was approximately 53.6 billion VND (over 2 million USD).

The indictment concluded that the actions of Ms. Hanh and her accomplices not only caused severe damage to the state budget but also undermined society’s trust in management agencies. For these offenses, Ms. Mai Thi Hong Hanh faces multiple serious charges, including abuse of power, embezzlement, and bribery.

The act of bribing to maintain personal interests and the company’s growth has created a chain of violations, exposing loopholes in the management of the petroleum business. This calls for stringent rectification and punishment to ensure transparency and fairness in the industry.