Former AIC Chairman Nguyen Thanh Nhan’s Family Submits VND 66 Billion to Remedy Consequences

On the afternoon of December 9th, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court continued the trial of 16 defendants in the case of Violation of Bidding Regulations Causing Serious Consequences, involving defendant Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, AIC Company, and the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training.

In court, the brother of defendant Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan (Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of AIC) requested to speak and expressed his anguish as his sister became entangled in multiple cases. He shared that Ms. Nhan is the youngest in the family, and her siblings are deeply concerned, hoping to directly observe the trial proceedings at the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court.

He stated that the family holds great hope that, following the Politburo’s Resolution 68 on the policy of “not criminalizing economic and civil relations,” economic cases will be reviewed under the new policy spirit, allowing those involved to rectify the consequences.

The family has discussed and agreed that if an appropriate mechanism is in place, they will borrow and pool assets to rectify the damages in Ms. Nhan’s cases. Previously, the family collaborated with the defendant to rectify damages in other cases and wishes to do the same in this case.

He added that the family has deposited 66 billion VND with the Ho Chi Minh City Civil Judgment Enforcement Agency to rectify the consequences before the trial.

“If given the opportunity, the family will continue to borrow and submit additional funds to help my sister and AIC employees avoid severe penalties,” he said.

The defendant’s brother requested the Council of Judges, investigative agencies, and appraisal units to objectively assess and determine the damages “accurately and sufficiently according to the law,” providing a basis for the family to continue rectification. He emphasized that Ms. Nhan has made significant social contributions, receiving commendations, medals, and recognition from international organizations.

“We hope the Council of Judges will fully consider mitigating circumstances, acknowledge the family’s rectification efforts, and my sister’s contributions for an objective evaluation of the case,” he said.

The representative of the Council of Judges stated that they have noted the family’s presented circumstances, including the 66 billion VND deposited for rectification and Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan’s achievements. These details will be considered during the deliberation process.

According to the indictment, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan (Chairwoman of the Board and CEO of AIC, currently at large) was the mastermind, directing the establishment of a “bid rigging” company group to participate in tenders. The “bid rigging” group’s dossiers were prepared by AIC in advance, intentionally omitting criteria or submitting high bids to be eliminated. AIC also manipulated financial reports, inflating indicators to legitimize winning bids.

Through these schemes, AIC won 230 tenders in Ho Chi Minh City, including 134 in education, 94 in healthcare, and 2 in the environment. Specifically, 171 tenders caused 145 billion VND in damages.

For the 134 education tenders, Mr. Le Hong Son, Mr. Le Hoai Nam (Deputy Director of the Department), and Ms. Le Phuong Nga (former Chief of the Department’s Office) along with several leaders and officials of the former District 5 Department of Education and Training were accused of failing to comply with the Law on Bidding. 131 of these tenders caused 142 billion VND in damages.

Investigators determined that before the bidding process, Ms. Hoang Thi Thuy Nga (Ms. Nhan’s subordinate) contacted and met with leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Education and Training, giving gifts and introducing herself as AIC’s representative.

Mr. Le Hong Son was accused of signing multiple advisory documents for the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee to direct the assignment of district Departments of Education and Training (which lacked capacity, experience, and bidding certifications) as project owners. For tenders where the Department was the project owner, Mr. Son was alleged to have signed direct procurement, pricing, and consulting documents in violation of regulations, causing 763 million VND in state losses.

Under Mr. Son’s direction, the District 5 Department of Education and Training piloted equipment procurement from AIC. Despite no bidding results, department specialists still collaborated to receive dossiers and data sent by AIC employees via email. This tender caused 4.2 billion VND in damages.

Additionally, other education departments were instructed to adopt direct procurement based on the prices and equipment types implemented by District 5. Mr. Son also advised expanding project ownership to high schools (which did not meet bidding conditions) and proposed increasing equipment quantities, leading to further violations.

The prosecution charged Mr. Son with responsibility for 129 tenders conducted by 23 former district Departments of Education and Training and 89 high schools as project owners, totaling over 137 billion VND in damages.

Mr. Le Hoai Nam, as deputy, was accused of issuing guidance documents for 89 high schools to conduct direct procurement. Mr. Nam was held responsible for 28.71 billion VND in damages.

For these violations, Mr. Son, Mr. Nam, and several other defendants were prosecuted for Violation of Bidding Regulations Causing Serious Consequences.