The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced Le Quoc Quan to 30 months in prison for tax evasion pursuant to Clause 3, Article 161 of the Criminal Code at a trial on October 2.
According to the indictment, Quan, 42, born in the central province of Nghe An, set up the Vietnam Solution Co. Ltd in April 2001 with its headquarters in Cau Giay district, Hanoi. Under its business registration, the company operated in a range of activities including investment consultancy, labour and vocational training services, electrical engineering, consultancy and technology transfer in agricultural and rural development. The company has changed its business registration certificate 13 times, with the last focusing on market research information services.
During the operation of the company, Quan instructed his accountant Pham Thi Phuong to make fake contracts and buying bogus added-value tax invoices in order to evade corporate income tax.
In 2010 and 2011, his company struck fake consultation deals worth 1.75 billion VND (80,000 USD) with nine experts. The tax deductions meant that the company reportedly dodged tax payment of over 645 million VND (30,900 USD).
The experts who were ‘hired’ have each admitted to signing the fake contracts for a 1-3 million VND (40 – 140 USD) reward each.
At the same trial, Quan’s accountant Pham Thi Phuong, 31, was jailed for eight months also for tax evasion.
The court ordered the Vietnam Solution company to pay back the amount of tax it had evaded in 2010 and 2011, as well as a fine of two times the amount of tax advantage.-VNA
