Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong: Two General Departments investigate Trinh Xuan Thanh case

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong emphasized that this is an issue of concern to the Party, State and people, so it is the responsibility of the police sector to act soon.

After reviewing the Central Inspection Committee's Notice of Conclusion on the inspection when there were signs of violations against Mr. Trinh Xuan Thanh, Provincial Party Committee member, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Hau Giang province for the 2011-2016 term, based on the Secretariat's opinion on this issue, on July 18, General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong requested the Standing Committee of the Central Public Security Party Committee to direct the functional agencies of the public security sector to investigate and clarify the violations that led to a loss of nearly 3,300 billion VND (2011-2013 period) at the Vietnam Oil and Gas Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC); direct the handling of organizations and individuals who violated the regulations in granting public vehicle license plates, review and revoke public vehicle license plates (blue plates) that were granted and used in violation of regulations.

Speaking to the press on the sidelines of the National Assembly on the morning of July 20, Deputy Minister of Public Security Le Quy Vuong affirmed that the case will be handled strictly.

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong talks to the press on the sidelines of the National Assembly

Strictly handle

PV:Which unit did the Ministry assign to investigate this case, sir?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:Two units, the General Department of Security and the General Department of Police, are researching and have not yet had results. The law must be implemented firmly, even if the General Secretary does not direct it, when there are signs of violations, it must still be implemented. The Ministry of Public Security has sent a document to the General Secretary.

PV:How will those involved in the violation of issuing license plates to Mr. Thanh be handled?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:Will handle seriously, just now clarified the violations of the license plate issuers. Now, the Ministry is re-inspecting the entire registration and management of license plate issuance of Hau Giang Provincial Police to gain experience and direct the whole industry. If there are mistakes, they must be handled and handled seriously.

PV:What are the Ministry's instructions to the units, sir?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:The Ministry has to work, use the inspection and auditing apparatus to do that work in accordance with the regulations of the industry. Circulars and regulations of the Ministry must be implemented as such. It must be done strictly, must achieve transparency, and meet the requirements of state management reform.

The file is not just a few pages, it is very thick, collected annually, along with projects, decisions... This corporation is very large, with many projects, many invested factories, but how effective it is must be clarified.

PV:When will the investigation be completed, sir?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:The expected time to complete this case must comply with the provisions of the law, the time limit for handling crime reports, and the time limit for investigation are all in the law. However, because it is an issue of concern to the Party, the State, and the people, it is the responsibility of the police to act soon.

The statute of limitations for investigation is no more than 2 months compared to the old law, 3 months compared to the new law. From the time of prosecution, it is about 4 months for serious cases. Economic cases may take longer, because proving economic crimes is very complicated, the whole process of reviewing documents, comparing, especially issues related to evidence is only convincing.

PV:What about the loss of more than 3,000 billion VND, sir?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:In 2012, a case was initiated and investigated within PVC. As for the loss of about 3,000 billion VND, as far as I know, it was based on the documents announced by the inspection agency, and now it cannot be clarified. This is a large company, with a parent company and subsidiaries, according to the accounting of the companies. It is possible that violations occurred in the subsidiaries, related to the management of the parent company, so it will take time.

PV:Has the investigating agency invited the people involved to work?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:The responsibility of the investigating agency is to comply with the provisions of the law. The results of the investigation must have evidence to prove the crime.

Throughout the investigation process, investigators must adhere to the principle of presumption of innocence, a person is only guilty when there is evidence of a crime and a conclusion of the court's handling, prosecution, and effective judgment, then the person is determined to be guilty. Therefore, the investigation process must strictly comply with, detect crimes but also protect human rights and civil rights according to the Constitution.

The law has no mercy.

PV:The General Secretary emphasized that the handling agency does not show favoritism or pressure?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:The law has no favoritism or pressure. Investigation work must comply with the law.

PV:What pressure did the investigation agency put on this case, sir?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:Being an investigator is a lot of pressure, all types of cases have a lot of pressure. For example, criminal and drug cases are very dangerous when dealing with dangerous criminals. But with economic crimes, people usually have basic education, knowledge, they grasp legal knowledge, so their response is very discreet, finding evidence requires a lot of thinking, analysis and evaluation, finding evidence is very difficult.

PV:What about relationship pressure, sir?

Deputy Minister Le Quy Vuong:Of course, but for those who do investigation, they must be open, transparent, serious, and must comply with the law. That way, we will not wrongly convict innocent people and will not let criminals escape. That is the principle of the investigation agency, so we can be at peace. If we do not do it right, we will feel guilty.

Personally, there are cases where the culprit cannot be found during the investigation, and I feel very troubled and thoughtful. That's the job!

PV:Thank you, Deputy Minister./.

According to VOV