Brian Jeffrey
Trial Begins for Education Procurement Scandal
The Hanoi People’s Court commenced the first-instance trial on January 14, involving eight individuals implicated in a bribery scandal, breaches in bidding processes, and violations of procurement rules linked to the Vietnam Education Publishing House (VEPH).
Collusion and Contract Awards
Between 2017 and 2021, Nguyen Duc Thai, the former Chairman of VEPH, and To My Ngoc, Chairwoman of Phung Vinh Hung Corporation, allegedly conspired to secure contracts for her firms. Their actions encompassed 13 packages for printing paper procurement valued at approximately 2.156 trillion VND (around $90 million).
Additionally, Thai partnered with Nguyen Tri Minh, director of Minh Cuong Phat Company, to grant five procurement contracts worth 209 billion VND ($8.7 million).
Thai instructed his team to disregard procurement regulations, ensuring that Ngoc’s and Minh’s businesses were favored in the contractor shortlist from 2018 to 2021. Following contract awards, he reportedly received over 20 billion VND ($850,000) in bribes from Ngoc and 4.9 billion VND ($208,000) from Minh.
Confessions and Circumstances
During the trial, Thai acknowledged receiving bribes as charged, clarifying that upon taking office in 2017, he was not well-versed in the company’s processes. Ngoc and Minh leveraged their longstanding connections with VEPH and competitive pricing to gain his favor.
Thai later directed Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, the then Marketing Head at VEPH, to assist in their procurement involvement. He later realized the methods used for the contracts were not within legal compliance.
Both Ngoc and Minh frequently gifted cash to Thai during cultural festivities, with Thai utilizing the bribe funds for personal use and asserting he had returned 25 billion VND to authorities.
Further Admissions of Guilt
Minh revealed that he provided Thai with over 4 billion VND in bribes, including contributions given during traditional celebrations directly at Thai’s office, based on their profit calculations after expenses.
Ngoc, who is requesting to be tried in absentia, faces accusations of giving over 20 billion VND in bribes to Thai.
The ongoing trial highlights persistent corruption in public procurement and emphasizes the importance of transparency within governmental entities. The court will decide on penalties for those involved and necessary actions to combat the abuse of power in state-owned enterprises.
