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Mr. Hoang Van Thang, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, was accused of accepting bribes to help businesses win bids for projects that were behind schedule.
On January 9, the Ministry of Public Security announced that Mr. Hoang Van Thang, former Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Tran To Nghi, former acting Director of the Department of Construction Management, and Mr. Tran Van Lang, former Director of Division 2, were prosecuted by the Department of Police Investigation of Crimes of Corruption, Economy, and Smuggling (C03) for accepting bribes. The prosecution decisions were implemented on January 2.
In the same case, C03 prosecuted 9 other people for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences, including: Nguyen Dac Diep, Deputy General Director of Song Da 5 Joint Stock Company; Tran Van Nhi, Head of Planning and Appraisal Department, Board 8; Pham Dong Phuong, former Deputy Director of Board 2; Nguyen Van Dan, Director of Hoang Dan Company; Vu Dinh Thinh, Deputy Director of Hoang Dan Company; Ta Van Thuyet, Director of Board 1; Nguyen Van Thuat, Head of Planning and Appraisal Department, Board 1; and Le Van Hien and Mai Quang Vuong, both former Directors of Board 8; Mai Quang Vuong, former Deputy Director of Board 8.
Mr. Thang used to work at the Institute of Water Resources Science, then worked at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development since 2007. From August 2010, when he was Director of the Department of Construction Management, he was appointed Deputy Minister. After nearly two terms, he retired in early 2019.
Authorities accused Mr. Thang and Mr. Nghi of colluding and receiving money from Hoang Dan Company and contractors in the joint venture. The two men then directed the leaders of Departments 1, 2, and 8 under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to "collude, collude, and violate bidding regulations."
The above violations are said to have helped Hoang Dan Company and the joint venture contractor win bids for projects that were behind schedule, with the total investment having to be adjusted many times. This caused great loss and waste to the state budget. The police initially determined that the case caused more than 234 billion VND in damage.
The four projects investigated in the case include: Ban Mong Lake, Nghe An Province, invested by Irrigation Investment and Construction Management Board 4 (Board 4); Ban Lai Lake, Lang Son Province, invested by Board 2; Krong Pach Thuong Lake, Dak Lak Province, invested by Board 8; Canh Tang Lake, Hoa Binh Province, invested by Board 1.
Among the defendants, Mr. Nguyen Van Dan, Director of Hoang Dan Company, was previously prosecuted in another case with the accusation of causing the Ban Mong reservoir project in Nghe An province to be behind schedule, causing waste of the budget.
Previously, Mr. Thang shared that the Ban Mong irrigation dam project is considered a great lesson in design and construction.
