16 billion bribery case: Punish severely, no matter who it is

Regarding the case of the leader of Vietnam Railway Corporation receiving a bribe of 16 billion VND from Japan Transport Consulting Group (JTC) as reported by Japanese press, the Ministry of Transport affirmed that it will resolutely and urgently clarify the issues raised by the press and strictly handle violations, regardless of who they are.

On the evening of March 23, the Ministry of Transport issued a statement regarding the suspected bribery of 80 million Yen by Vietnamese railway officials.

According to the viewpoint of Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang, the Ministry will resolutely and promptly inspect and clarify the issues raised by the press and strictly handle violations, regardless of who they are. This will contribute to further strengthening the current extensive strategic partnership between Vietnam and Japan, while also affirming the determination to implement the Party, State and people's policies on preventing corruption and negativity.

The Ministry of Transport affirmed that it will clarify and strictly handle all violations.

Specifically, the Ministry of Transport will closely coordinate with the Embassy of Japan and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam to receive and share information about this incident.

“On the morning of March 24, Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong will work with JICA and the Japanese Embassy to inform the Japanese side about the resolute and serious attitude, as well as the highest spirit of cooperation of the Ministry of Transport and related units in the work of preventing and combating corruption,” Minister Dinh La Thang stated.

In particular, the Ministry of Transport has requested individuals involved in the project (including those who have changed jobs) to temporarily stop performing assigned tasks to focus on explaining their responsibilities during their participation in the project.

“Even retired officials involved in this project must explain. All individuals must complete their reports before March 31,” Minister Dinh La Thang directed.

Inspect all projects JTC participates in

In addition, the Ministry of Transport also assigned the Ministry Inspectorate to establish inspection teams to inspect all projects that JTC has participated in, first of all, projects in the railway sector.

JTC is currently the contractor of the Hanoi urban railway construction project, Ngoc Hoi - Yen Vien section (line 1), with Japanese ODA loans divided into 2 phases.

To verify and clarify information about the incident, the Ministry of Transport has immediately requested the Vietnam Railway Corporation and the Railway Project Management Board to temporarily suspend disbursement according to the contract signed with JTC, and at the same time temporarily suspend financial negotiations on the technical design consulting contract for phase 2A with JTC.

Currently, the Urban Railway Project No. 1 has received 2 JICA loans with a total value of 21,271 billion yen, and the phases of the Project have begun implementation since 2008.

The Ministry of Transport said that the selection of consulting contractors must comply with the regulations of the sponsor and the Law on Bidding of Vietnam.

Up to now, the consulting service has basically completed the technical design work of phase 1 and is selecting and negotiating the consulting contract of phase 2a. The construction bidding work has not been implemented yet.

According to vietnamnet