Death sentence for former chief accountant of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology for embezzling 152 billion VND

On the evening of September 23, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced to death defendant Nguyen Hoang, born in 1971, former Head of the Finance and Accounting Department, former Chief Accountant of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (VSDTTW) for the crime of embezzlement of property.

Regarding the case, the Trial Council sentenced two former Directors of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology, defendants Dang Duc Anh (born in 1964) and Nguyen Tran Hien (born in 1954), to 3 years in prison; Pham Son Thuy (born in 1959, former Chief Accountant of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology) to 4 years in prison for the crime of Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences.

Previously, in February 2023, the Department of Internal Political Security (Ministry of Public Security) received a complaint from Mr. Dang Duc Anh, Director of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.

The petition stated that the Institute's Board of Directors inspected the accounts and compared the books of the Finance - Accounting Department and discovered that from January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2022, Mr. Nguyen Hoang withdrew 110 billion VND from 4 accounts of the VSDTTW but did not deposit it into the Institute's cash fund.

During the investigation, the police clarified that from March 2009 to February 2023, the VSDTTW Institute opened 6 bank accounts (the source of money from service activities and money from foreign-funded projects).

At that time, Mr. Nguyen Hoang, in his role as Accountant, Chief Accountant, Head of the Finance and Accounting Department of the Central Institute of Criminal Justice, forged 409 withdrawal slips, checks and payment orders (collectively referred to as withdrawal slips) to withdraw more than VND 246 billion. Of which, Mr. Hoang paid more than VND 94 billion (to conceal his criminal acts).

The accusation is that the amount of money that Mr. Hoang embezzled from the Institute was more than 152 billion VND. According to Mr. Hoang's statement, the defendant used the money to gamble in the form of lottery, not spending it on anyone.

The defendant forged the advance payment proposals of the units and departments of the Central Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology when submitting the withdrawal papers for signature; and mixed the withdrawal papers into the set of documents and certificates that needed urgent signatures so that the relevant individuals could sign and approve the withdrawal papers.

From 2009 to 2017, because Mr. Hoang had modified the figures on the financial reports, when reviewing the year-end report, the leaders of the VSDTTW Institute as well as the Department of Financial Planning, Ministry of Health did not detect the defendant's embezzlement of money.

Since 2018, as Chief Accountant, defendant Nguyen Hoang has delayed the submission of financial reports to the Department of Planning and Finance. The Department of Planning and Finance has sent two official dispatches urging him to do so, but Mr. Hoang still did not comply.

In addition, to conceal the withdrawal, the defendant withdrew money from this account and then deposited it into another account or borrowed money from relatives and friends many times to deposit money into the accounts when these accounts needed money to use, settle, and finish the project.

According to the accusation, defendants Dang Duc Anh, Pham Son Thuy and Nguyen Tran Hien did not check and supervise information, spending plans, and settlement documents before signing for approval; did not check the unit's cash fund after signing the withdrawal papers; did not conduct an inventory or reconcile the balances in the accounts..., leading to Mr. Hoang withdrawing money many times over a long period of time without being detected.