Commune official detained for embezzling over 500 million VND.

On February 24th, the Investigation Police Department of Dong Nai province initiated criminal proceedings and ordered a 4-month temporary detention for Phan Trong Ve (37 years old, former finance and accounting employee of Vinh Tan commune, Vinh Cuu district) to investigate the crime of embezzlement of property.

According to the investigation records, from February 20 to August 20, 2017, Phan Trong Ve was assigned to work as a revenue accountant to replace Bui Thi Huyen Trang, who was on maternity leave.

During this period, it was noted that the 20% of funds contributed by the people through social mobilization were not used in the construction of projects, and instead, the remaining 80% was provided through support from the provincial and district budgets.

According to regulations, the People's Committee of Vinh Tan commune only settles the receipts for socialized funds with the Finance and Planning Department of Vinh Cuu district at the end of the year. At this time, Ve did not deposit the more than 540 million VND into the treasury but instead misappropriated it for personal use.

Previously, on November 8, 2017, the accounting office of the Vinh Tan Commune People's Committee reported a break-in, with approximately 350 million VND stolen from the safe. An inspection revealed that the safe was missing about 350 million VND that had been stored there previously. Meanwhile, the accounting office of the Vinh Tan Commune People's Committee had two accounting staff members, including Phan Trong Ve.

After examining the scene, authorities determined that the safe showed no signs of being forced open, suggesting that the person who stole the money was likely someone with a thorough understanding of the accounting department's procedures and where the money was kept.

The incident is currently under investigation.