Vietnamese official allegedly takes $600,000, Patek Philippe watch, Mercedes-Benz in bribes from business

The Ministry of Public Security on Tuesday issued a conclusion on violations of state asset management and bribery occurred at Xuyen Viet Oil and related entities.

According to investigators, Tho had abused his power, first as board chairman of Vietinbank and later as Party Secretary of the southern Ben Tre Province, to facilitate loans and favorable credit limits for Xuyen Viet Oil, receiving significant monetary and material benefits in return.

Tho, 54, is facing charges of “abusing his power to influence others for personal gain and accepting bribes”.

The investigators accused Tho of accepting bribes on two occasions from 2019 to January 2020, totaling US$600,000 from the private company, to facilitate a favorable loan of VND400 billion (US$16 million) with preferential interest rates and a 40% collateral rate.

Tho also accepted luxury gifts from its general director Mai Thi Hong Hanh, including a Patek Philippe watch worth $421,000, a Mercedes Benz S450 worth VND6.67 billion ($270,000), and a golf set worth VND1.1 billion, police found.

Hanh is under investigation for “violating regulations on state asset management, causing loss and waste, and giving bribes”.

According to the investigation, in August 2023, police received a report from an employee of Xuyen Viet Oil accusing Hanh of using deceitful tactics to embezzle assets from state agencies, organizations, and the government.

An investigation launched later determined that in managing the fuel price stabilization fund, Hanh and her deputy Nguyen Thi Nhu Phuong caused a loss of VND219 billion to the fund.

Given the legal responsibility of collecting environmental protection taxes from fuel trading activities, Hanh intentionally did not transfer the collected funds to the state budget, instead using them for personal purposes, resulting in a loss of VND1.24 trillion to the state budget.

Former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Do Thang Hai is also under investigation involving the management of Xuyen Viet Oil’s operation.

Investigation found that Hai had the authority since 2014 to issue import and export licenses for fuel trading to key fuel traders. Hai was directly responsible for overseeing and directing the Domestic Market Department, which handled license applications for fuel import and export businesses.

In June 2021, he was contacted by Hanh to renew Xuyen Viet Oil’s fuel import and export license. Hai instructed a subordinate to expedite the license issuance process for Xuyen Viet Oil.

In November 2021, Hai accepted $50,000 from Hanh in his office. Hai has returned more than half of the sum since the investigation was launched.