Today Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung appeared in court in the 4th case.
This is the case of inflated tree prices in Hanoi - the fourth case in which former Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung has been accused of wrongdoing.
Today (August 25), the Hanoi People's Court opened the first instance trial of former Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee Nguyen Duc Chung and 14 other defendants in the case of inflating the price of trees in Hanoi.
Judge Nguyen Xuan Van (Chief of the Criminal Court, Hanoi People's Court) presided over the trial. A total of 23 lawyers defended the 15 defendants. Among them, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung had one defense lawyer.
The trial is scheduled to be held on both Saturday and Sunday.
Among the 15 defendants, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung was brought to trial for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties".
The defendants were prosecuted for the crime of "Violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing loss and waste": Vu Kien Trung (former Chairman of Hanoi Green Tree Parks Company Limited - Hanoi Green Tree Parks Company), Nguyen Xuan Hanh (former General Director of Hanoi Green Tree Parks Company), Bui Phuong Thao (former Chief Accountant of Hanoi Green Tree Parks Company), Do Quang Tien (former Director of the Green Tree, Flower and Ornamental Plant Production Enterprise of Hanoi Green Tree Parks Company);
Bui Van Man (former Director of Green Ecology Company Limited - Green Ecology Company), Hoang Thi Kim Loan (former Deputy Director of Green Ecology Company), Do Khac Tu Anh (former Deputy Head of Finance and Accounting Department, Urban Infrastructure Maintenance Department under Hanoi Department of Construction), Nguyen Thi Ngoc Lam (former Appraiser, Vietnam Valuation and Financial Services Joint Stock Company).
The two defendants Nguyen Tuan Nghia (former Director of Vi Nhan Dan Company, Hoa Lac Green Company) and Kieu Thi Thuy (former Accountant of Hoa Lac Green Company and Vi Nhan Dan Company) were prosecuted for the crimes of "Violating regulations on management and use of State assets causing loss and waste" and "Illegal trading of invoices".
Defendant Hoang Dinh Van (former Director of Hoang Anh Phat Company) was prosecuted for the crime of "Smuggling".
The remaining three defendants were prosecuted for the crimes of: "Illegal trading of invoices and documents for payment to the State budget" and "Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences".
According to the indictment, in 2016, the Hanoi People's Committee planned to implement the work of planting replacement and additional trees in Hanoi.
During the implementation process, a number of individuals from the Hanoi People's Committee and related units committed violations, not following the bidding method as prescribed by law but following the ordering method, planting trees first, then legalizing the ordering procedure, estimating, and finalizing the payment later; Buying and selling trees of unknown legal origin, creating fake documents to legalize and increase the price of trees, causing serious damage to State assets.
In this case, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung was accused of having, for personal motives, decided to carry out tree planting work in Hanoi using an illegal ordering method; allowing the planting of trees first, then legalizing the ordering procedures, estimating, and finalizing the payment later.
The accusation is that Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung's wrongdoings allowed other individuals to take advantage of the situation to inflate tree prices to include in budget estimates and final accounts, causing a loss of more than 34 billion VND to the State Budget.
During the investigation, Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung only accepted responsibility as head of Hanoi People's Committee.
Regarding a number of related individuals belonging to the Hanoi People's Committee, the Department of Finance, the Department of Construction, and the Green Tree Company, the indictment stated that, in the process of implementing the planting, replacement, and addition of trees in Hanoi during the period 2016 - 2019, with different positions and tasks, they followed the instructions imposed by their superiors.
These people were conscious of carrying out the task of planting trees for the common good, not for personal gain or other personal motives. They did not know that they were inflating the price of trees. Therefore, the Investigation Agency did not consider criminal responsibility, and at the same time recommended that competent authorities handle the disciplinary action as severe enough.