Ex-Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang at the court (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The High-Level People’s Court in Hanoi decided to reduce the prision sentence for ex-minister of industry and trade Vu Huy Hoang by one year to 10 years on charges of “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness”, during an appeal trial on January 24.
His violations are related to a case that occurred at the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), the Saigon Beer - Alcohol - Beverage JSC (Sabeco) and Ho Chi Minh City.
Former Director of the MoIT’s Department of Light Industry Phan Chi Dung also had his sentence reduced by one year to eight years.
Former Deputy Director of the HCM City's Department of Planning and Investment Lam Nguyen Khoi was given a jail term of four years, down six months, and former head of the Department of Planning and Investment's Infrastructure Development Division Le Quang Minh also had his term shortened by six months to three years.
The board of juries also asked for allocating the land lot No.2-4-6 on Hai Ba Trung street, District 1 to the municipal People’s Committee for management in line with the law.
According to the indictment from the Supreme People’s Procuracy, Sabeco, which is under the MoIT’s management, was given more than 6,000 sq.m of land at No. 2-4-6 on Hai Ba Trung street in downtown HCM City for production and business purposes.
However, Hoang, Dung, and former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Ho Thi Kim Thoa, who has fled, directed subordinates at the ministry and Sabeco to carry out procedures for using land use rights and Sabeco's money as capital contributions to set up Sabeco Pearl, a joint venture between Sabeco and a number of private enterprises, to implement a project building a hotel, a trade and convention centre, and office space for lease on the land plot.
After Sabeco completed legal procedures for the joint venture’s investment and proposed the HCM City People’s Committee approve the addition of officetel and housing functions to this project, the MoIT ordered the company to divest its entire stake in this project.
The move was illegal and resulted in the loss of over 2.7 trillion VND (117.3 million USD) to the State./.
