Mr. Dinh La Thang appeared in court in Ho Chi Minh City.

Ho Chi Minh City People's Court is scheduled to hear the case until December 25. Mr.Dinh La Thang(60 years old, serving a 30-year prison sentence); former Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Hong Truong; Nguyen Chi Thanh (acting Head of Finance, Ministry of Transport) and 4 others were prosecuted for the crime ofViolating regulations on management and use of state assets causing loss and wasteAccording to Clause 3, Article 219 of the 2015 Penal Code, the sentence is 10-20 years in prison.

In connection with the case, Dinh Ngoc He (49 years old, also known as Ut "Troc", former Deputy Director of Thai Son Corporation, Ministry of National Defense) and 12 others were accused of the crime.Fraudulent appropriation of property; Taking advantage of position and power to influence others for personal gain.

The presiding judge of the trial is Huynh Van Truc, Deputy Chief of Criminal Court. In addition to the five-member panel, there is also alternate judge Nguyen Van Hau. The prosecutors are Nguyen Manh Thuong, Le Huu Ngoc, To Huu Thong, Ngo Pham Viet and Tran Thi Lien. Among them, there are two alternate prosecutors.

To serve the trial, the court summoned 24 companies and individuals as witnesses.person with related rights and obligationsThe Ministry of Transport was identified as the victim in the case.

More than 40 lawyers participated in defending the defendants and protecting the rights of the people involved. Mr. Thang alone had 6 lawyers.

Mr. Dinh La Thang in court in Hanoi in 2018.Photo: VNA.

In February 2012, Mr. Thang directed Duong Tuan Minh (former General Director of Cuu Long Transport Infrastructure Development and Project Management Corporation, under the Ministry of Transport) to let Dinh Ngoc He's company (which was operating at a loss and had no financial capacity) buy the right to collect fees.

This action of Mr. Thang is considered to be "ignoring" the regulations on State asset management and transfer of toll collection rights. That is, Mr. Thang is very aware that this is a special asset with great value, and needs to find a partner with financial capacity to optimize the sale of toll collection rights, but still helps the loss-making company of Ut "Troc".

During the auction, Mr. Thang signed the decision to establish the Auction Council for the right to collect fees and the Standing Committee to assist, and assigned Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong as Chairman. All activities of building and completing the project and the auction results were reported by Mr. Truong to the Minister. Through these documents, Mr. Thang knew that the auction was not carried out in accordance with the provisions of the law, allowing Yen Khanh Company to win the bid according to his original intention.

According to the investigation agency, Mr. Thang knew that Yen Khanh Company did not pay the auction winning money as committed, violating the auction regulations, the contract must be terminated early and the right to collect fees returned to the State. However, when Duong Minh Tuan reported, Mr. Thang did not direct the early termination of the contract but also requested "let the enterprise pay gradually".

In addition, Mr. Thang also wrote a proposal to let Yen Khanh Company be the investor to build two additional intersections on the Tan Tao - Cho Dem route and suggested that this company deduct the amount payable under the contract to purchase the right to collect tolls, leading to the company continuing to not pay according to regulations.

With the help of Mr. Thang, Nguyen Hong Truong and many others, Ut "Troc" appropriated and benefited from a total of 725 billion VND of the State's property.

Four cases related to Mr. Dinh La Thang. Photo: Ta Lu - Pham Du.

Respond to the press,Lawyer Hoang Van Doan (Hanoi Bar Association, defending Mr. Thang) said that his client's health was stable before the trial. Regarding the content of the indictment that "must bear primary responsibility for all violations", Mr. Thang said it was "unreasonable and unconvincing".

Because after the Prime Minister agreed to assign the Ministry of Transport to sell the right to collect tolls on the Ho Chi Minh City - Trung Luong Expressway, Mr. Thang signed a decision to establish an Auction Council and a Standing Committee to assist, and assigned Deputy Minister Nguyen Hong Truong as Chairman of the Council. After that, Mr. Truong assigned Cuu Long Company to sign a contract to buy and sell toll collection rights with Yen Khanh Company. On June 22, 2015, when implementing the Contract, Deputy Minister (now Minister of Transport) Nguyen Van The asked for Mr. Thang's opinion.

On June 23, 2015, Mr. Thang wrote a note "requesting Mr. The to direct the settlement in accordance with the contract signed by both parties and in accordance with the provisions of law. However, it is also necessary to clarify the responsibilities of the investor and the state management agencies of Cuu Long Corporation". Therefore, the act of accusing Mr. Thang of the crimeViolating regulations on management and use of state assets causing loss and wasteis not objective, has no basis.

In 2018, Mr. Thang was sentenced to 30 years in prison in two cases that occurred at the Vietnam Oil and Gas Construction Joint Stock Corporation, the Vietnam Oil and Gas Group, and Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank. Earlier this year, he was again proposed for prosecution in the case of appointing a contractor to implement the Phu Tho Ethanol project, causing a loss of more than 600 billion VND.