Hanoi (VNA) - The Hanoi People’s Court on May 29 handed down sentences to a former senior trade official and three others for their roles in a bribery case involving the issuance of fuel trading licences, concluding a two-day trial that exposed corruption within the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Nguyen Loc An, former Deputy Director of the ministry’s Domestic Market Department, received an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes. Combined with a prior four-year sentence from a separate conviction, An will serve a total of 15 years in prison. The court also imposed a fine of 50 million VND (1,925 USD) and barred him from holding positions related to commercial trading for two years after his release.
Ex-Chairman of the Long Hung Trading and Services Co. Ltd. Nguyen Tuan Quynh was sentenced to five years for giving bribes, while Tran Trac Viet Duc, Director of the Bach Khoa Viet Trading, Consultancy, Investment and Construction JSC, and Do Thi Tuyet Nga, the company’s chief accountant, each faced a five year jail term for violating regulations on State asset management, causing losses and wastefulness.
According to the indictment by the Supreme People’s Procuracy, An, in his role as head of the inspection team for petrol trading licence applications from January to September 2015, abused his authority to solicit and accept bribes.
He received 9.2 billion VND (354,460 USD) from Tran Thi Loan Phuong, Chairwoman of the Board of Directors of Bach Khoa Viet, and 5 billion VND from Quynh, to secure certificates of eligibility for their companies to act as petroleum distributors and to obtain import-export licenses, despite their failure to meet legal requirements.
The indictment detailed that Phuong initially paid An 200 million VND to facilitate her company’s license applications. Following his suggestion, she later provided an additional 9 billion VND to ensure the necessary documents were prepared and submitted to the ministry. Phuong’s actions constituted the crime of “giving bribes”.
However, Phuong later confessed and submitted a formal complaint that led to An’s prosecution. In recognition of her cooperation and the critical role she played in uncovering the case, prosecutors decided to grant her immunity from criminal liability./.
