'No restricted areas, no exceptions' directive seen from major trials in 2022

In 2022, Hanoi People's Court resolved 34,807 cases of all kinds, an increase of 7,294 cases compared to the same period in 2021.

In particular, the Hanoi People's Court, in coordination with the prosecution agencies, has urgently studied the files of serious and complicated economic and corruption cases under the supervision of the Central Steering Committee on Anti-Corruption and Negative Practices. The cases have been promptly and strictly tried.

1.The first case to mention isAIC caseIn this case, AIC Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan and 35 other defendants, including Mr. Tran Dinh Thanh (former Secretary of Dong Nai Provincial Party Committee), Dinh Quoc Thai (former Vice Chairman of Dong Nai Provincial People's Committee) were brought to trial for the crimes of Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences,Briberyand Bribery.

AIC trial. Photo: VNA

According to the representative of the People's Procuracy, this case is a typical illustration of group interests, collusion between businesses and people in authority, creating conditions for businesses to profit, causing hundreds of billions of dong in damage to the State, harming the correctness of State agencies, and undermining people's trust.

The first instance verdict stated that in this case, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan played the role of the mastermind and was primarily responsible for the violations that occurred at AIC Company. The AIC Chairman, despite being on the run, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for both Violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences and Bribery.

Mr. Tran Dinh Thanh and Mr. Dinh Quoc Thai received 11 and 9 years in prison respectively for receiving bribes of more than 14 billion VND from Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan and her subordinates.

2.2022,Former Chairman of Hanoi Nguyen Duc Chungmust appear in the appeal court in the third case related to violations in the sale of Redoxy-3C.

According to the first instance verdict, in 2016, the Hanoi People's Committee directed relevant units to implement the work of handling, renovating and overcoming water pollution in rivers and lakes in the city by searching for suitable advanced technologies.

Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung in court. Photo: CTV

Defendant Nguyen Duc Chung chose the polluted water treatment technology of Watch Water Company (Germany), organized a delegation to visit, test, and order the production of Redoxy-3C.

Mr. Chung then directed the purchase of Redoxy-3C through Arktic Company (an intermediary company), a family company, with the motive of profit, causing serious damage to State assets with a total loss of more than 36 billion VND.

On the afternoon of June 22, 2022, the Hanoi High People's Court decided to reduce the prison sentence of the former Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee. Accordingly, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung received 5 years in prison for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties". Previously, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced Mr. Chung to 8 years in prison.

3.Regarding the violations that occurred at Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, in November 2022, Hanoi People's Court sentencedFormer Deputy Minister of Health Cao Minh Quang30 months suspended sentence for "Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences".

Former Deputy Minister Cao Minh Quang walks to court with a cane. Photo: Dinh Hieu

The indictment alleges that Mr. Cao Minh Quang was assigned to direct, periodically inspect, evaluate, and summarize the situation of purchasing, preserving, and using Tamiflu, Oseltamivir raw materials, and producing reserve drugs.

But the former Deputy Minister of Health was irresponsible, did not fully perform his assigned tasks, did not direct an inspection to clarify the amount of more than 3.8 million USD that Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company had not paid to the raw material supplier, so he did not discover that Cuu Long Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company had retained this amount, causing damage to the State budget.

4.Also in 2022, another Deputy Minister of Health isMr. Truong Quoc Cuongwas also brought to trial in connection with the sale of counterfeit health products labeled Health 2000 Canada.

Mr. Truong Quoc Cuong arrives at court. Photo: Dinh Hieu

According to the panel of judges, defendant Truong Quoc Cuong did not properly and fully perform his assigned duties, and agreed to license drugs when the drugs did not meet the licensing requirements. Afterwards, despite receiving information about the drugs that did not meet the licensing requirements, the defendant did not direct the recall, resulting in drugs of unknown origin being used for patients.

On the afternoon of May 19, 2022, the Hanoi People's Court sentenced former Deputy Minister of Health Truong Quoc Cuong to 4 years in prison for the crime of Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences. At the end of September 2022, the Hanoi High People's Court accepted Mr. Truong Quoc Cuong's appeal for a reduction of the sentence, reducing the defendant's sentence by 1 year.

5.On August 30, 2022, Hanoi People's Court sentenced the case.Violations in land management and use occurred in Binh Duong provinceAccordingly, Mr. Tran Van Nam (former Secretary of Binh Duong Provincial Party Committee) and Tran Thanh Liem (former Chairman of Binh Duong Provincial People's Committee) both received 7 years in prison for the same crime of "Violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing loss and waste".

By the end of December 2022, the appellate court decided to accept Mr. Tran Thanh Liem's ​​appeal, reducing the defendant's sentence by 1 year.

Former Secretary of Binh Duong Provincial Party Committee Tran Van Nam. Photo: Dinh Hieu

According to the accusation, Binh Duong Import-Export Production Corporation is a 100% state-owned enterprise, owned by Binh Duong Provincial Party Committee. All assets assigned to the Corporation for management and use are owned by the State.

Mr. Tran Van Nam and Mr. Tran Thanh Liem, along with the defendants, were primarily responsible for the performance of their duties in managing State capital and assets at this Corporation, but they directed and intentionally violated the provisions of the law on capital and asset management, causing particularly large losses to the State.

According to the representative of Binh Duong province, this case is a great, expensive and painful lesson for the defendants themselves and will have a deterrent and warning meaning for generations of leaders, cadres and party members of the province.

6.At the end of January 2022, Hanoi People's Court sentencedFormer Director of Bach Mai Hospital Nguyen Quoc Anh5 years in prison for the crime of "Abusing power while performing official duties".

The trial of Mr. Nguyen Quoc Anh and his accomplices. Photo: CTV

During the process of implementing the project and signing the joint venture and association contracts at Bach Mai Hospital, Mr. Quoc Anh and other defendants took advantage of their functions, duties and powers to violate the provisions of the law. This was to bring profits to the group and Mr. Quoc Anh personally of more than 331 million VND.

In 2022, from the former Deputy Minister of Health to the former Secretary and Chairman of Binh Duong and Dong Nai provinces, all received prison sentences for their violations. This shows that the strict handling of corruption, negativity, and intentional violations according to the General Secretary's instructions has no forbidden areas or exceptions, regardless of who the person is.