Vietnamese deputy chief state inspector suspended for allegedly bribery

Deputy chief of Vietnam's State Inspectorate Tran Quoc Truong has been suspended from his post for three months for allegedly receiving bribes in the biggest wrongdoing case in the country's oil and gas industry, local media reported Monday.

The Secretariat of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committee approved the suspension proposal of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung, Vietnam Agriculture newspaper said.

The director and chief accountant of the Petroleum Design and Construction Company confessed that they gave 3,000 U.S. dollars and 10 million Vietnamese dong (VND) (629 dollars) to Truong so that he would issue inspection reports in favor of the firm. The prime minister has asked investigators to verify the statement and responsibility of Truong, former chief of the State Inspectorate Quach Le Thanh, and their inferiors for inspection works in the 2001-2003 period.

Initial investigation results show that three officials of the inspectorate's Economic Inspection Department No. 2, including department's director Luong Cao Khai and two of his deputies, Duong Xuan Luc and Bui Xuan Bay, had received 16,500 dollars and 288 million VND (18,100 dollars), and a 600-square meter plot of land from some local enterprises, affiliated to the state-owned Vietnam Oil and Gas Corporation.

In the 2001-2003 period, the three men were in charge of inspecting mismanagement of the enterprises' officials in constructing some petroleum works, which led to losses of state money. They drafted inspection results, suggesting some corporate officials in charge of the works be held criminally responsible. However, in their official report, they no longer proposed that.

On Monday, People's Army newspaper said the State Inspectorate will dismiss those who have received bribes of 500,000 VND (31.4 dollars) upwards from the inspected oil and gas enterprises.

Local police detained Bay in February on the charge of "taking advantage of position and power while conducting official duty." In 2005, Khai and Luc were arrested for the same charge.

Recently, the prime minister asked investigators to verify a rumor that Quach Le Thanh had campaigned for two of his daughters and a cousin being admitted to the lucrative corporation. Thanh told reporters that only the two daughters are working for the corporation.

Crude oil is now Vietnam's biggest hard currency earner, fetching the country 4.2 billion dollars in the first half of this year. It exported nearly 18.1 million tons of the product valued at roughly 7.4 billion dollars last year.

Source: Xinhua