Former director of Thu Duc Hospital accused of "laundering" over 100 billion VND in embezzlement

The actions of Mr. Quan, his wife Nguyen Tran Ngoc Diem; Nguyen Van Loi (Director of Nguyen Tam Company - one of Mr. Quan's "backyard" businesses) were stated in the supplementary investigation conclusion that the Investigation Police Agency (C03) of the Ministry of Public Security had just completed, requesting the Supreme People's Procuracy to prosecute them for the crime ofMoney laundering.Quan and Loi were also accused of acts ofEmbezzlement, embezzling 103 billion VND of the State.

This move was made after more than 2 months of C03's additional investigation at the request of the People's Procuracy. Thus, the investigation agency has additionally prosecuted the defendant Diem, and at the same time changed the charges against Quan and Loi fromViolations of bidding regulations cause serious consequencesto sinEmbezzlement and Money Laundering.

Regarding the case, Tran Hau Nghia (Director of Hai Dang Medical Equipment Company) and 5 people from Thu Duc Hospital, namely Nguyen Thi Ngoc and Nguyen Lan Anh (former deputy directors), Ngo Truong Ngoc Bich (former head of supplies department), Dang Thi Hien (former chief accountant), Nguyen Huy Viet (former staff of supplies department) were proposed to be prosecuted for the crime ofViolation of bidding regulations causes serious consequences.

Mr. Quan is currently being detained at the Bac Giang Provincial Police Detention Center under an arrest warrant issued by the Ministry of Public Security in November 2021. This is the second case in which Mr. Quan has been prosecuted. In the first case, the former director of Thu Duc Hospital was proposed by Ho Chi Minh City Police to be prosecuted for violating bidding procedures related to the purchase of Covid test kits from Viet A, causing a loss of more than 10 billion VND.

Hospital disabled, allowing 4 "backyard" companies to win the bid

The Ministry of Public Security determined that Mr. Quan had the right to decide and was responsible for managing assets from bank loans and the Career Development Fund of Thu Duc Hospital. In addition, the defendant was the owner and operator (although not the legal entity or company director) of 4 "backyard" companies: Nguyen Tam, Trung Dung, Thanh Vuong SG and Ngoc Dao. Of which, Mr. Quan assigned Loi to be the Director of Nguyen Tam Company and hired 3 other people to head the remaining businesses to serve the business of medicine, supplies and medical equipment.

According to the investigation agency, from 2016 to 2019, Quan directed Loi and these people to use the company's legal entity to buy and sell in a roundabout way to raise prices and participate in bidding for medical equipment procurement packages at Thu Duc Hospital. On the other hand, in his position as the head of the hospital, the defendant directed and pressured his subordinates and members of the bidding teams to commit acts that violated the provisions of the Law on Bidding such as: bid collusion, fraud, and failure to ensure transparency.

Specifically, Mr. Quan signed the decision to establish a specialized bidding organization team, but the team members were all "inactivated" and had no right to intervene. Their main job was to sign and complete the documents and coordinate with Loi to make the documents look good as directed. The hospital staff knew that the bidding companies were all Mr. Quan's "backyards" but still followed the instructions. This caused Loi and 3 companies to win 27 packages with a total value of more than 345 billion VND. The results of the asset valuation in the criminal proceedings proved that Mr. Quan had inflated the price of medical equipment by 30% to 50%.

"After deducting the purchase price and expenses, the amount of money appropriated by Quan was determined to be more than 103 billion VND," the Ministry of Public Security concluded, while also identifying Thu Duc Hospital as a unit with a self-sufficient revenue source that can cover all regular operating expenses and development investment expenses. It uses bank loans to purchase medical equipment and uses funds from revenue sources and service activities to repay debts.

"Thus, the assets purchased by Thu Duc Hospital are State assets assigned to the hospital for management and use," the conclusion stated, determining that Mr. Quan used tricks to legalize the purchase.EmbezzlementState money

Money laundering into real estate and cars

The investigation concluded that after the money from Thu Duc Hospital was transferred to the accounts of 4 companies, Mr. Quan directed Loi to withdraw cash, transfer money to his and his wife's accounts; pay for a series of car and real estate purchases... In which, Mr. Quan directly or indirectly participated in financial, banking or other transactions to conceal the illegal origin of the money and assets he had obtained through his crimes.

As for Ms. Diem, although she does not manage business activities, she is the one who manages the profits of 4 companies earned from bidding for medical equipment at Thu Duc Hospital. Before or after the companies were paid by the hospital, Diem asked Loi to transfer a total of nearly 68 billion VND to pay for real estate...

In 2021 and 2022, while serving as Director of Thu Duc Hospital, Mr. Quan was investigated by the Ministry of Public Security for violations. At this time, he spent a total of more than 3.7 million USD 8 times to "fix the case". 6 people involved in "fixing the case" were tried, including two former officers of C03 of the Ministry of Public Security. Mr. Quan was determined to have proactively reported before being discovered, so he was exempted from criminal liability.