Prosecution of 7 defendants in the case of 'protecting' the 'king car' logo
Of the 7 defendants prosecuted, 5 were former state officials working in the field of road traffic.
The Hanoi People's Procuracy has just completed the indictment to prosecute 7 defendants in the case of "protecting" the "royal car" logo in Hanoi, including 5 defendants who were former state officials working in the field of road traffic.
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| Traffic inspectors handle an overloaded driver in Hanoi. Photo: Lao Dong Newspaper |
The 7 defendants in this case include: Nguyen Anh Hao (born in 1981, residing in Tay Mo ward, Nam Tu Liem district, Hanoi), Le Van Cuong (born in 1980, former officer of Road Management Department I.6 under Road Management Department I - Vietnam Road Administration), Pham Van Vinh (born in 1993, former General Director of Tuan Vinh Investment, Trade and Transport Joint Stock Company), Le Ba Dung (born in 1974, former officer of the Traffic Inspection Team of Hoang Mai district, Hanoi), Tran Sy Cuong (born in 1984, former officer of the Mobile Inspection Team under the Inspectorate of the Hanoi Department of Transport), Nguyen Quoc Cuong (born in 1973, former officer of the Traffic Inspection Team of Hai Ba Trung district, Hanoi), Hoang Van Lan (born in 1963, former officer of the Traffic Inspection Team of Phu Xuyen district, Hanoi). Of which, 3 defendants: Nguyen Anh Hao, Le Van Cuong and Pham Van Vinh were prosecuted by the Procuracy for the crime of "Giving bribes" under the provisions of Article 364, Clause 4 - Penal Code 2015. The remaining four defendants were prosecuted for the crime of "Receiving bribes" under the provisions of Article 354, Clause 2 - Penal Code 2015.
"Protecting" all kinds of trucks, illegally profiting 12.2 billion VND per month
According to the indictment, on August 13, 2018, Hanoi City Police received a report accusing Tuan Vinh Company, headquartered in Hoang Mai District and Thuong Tin District (Hanoi), of "protecting" trucks of all types from 1 ton to 80 tons, illegally profiting about 12.2 billion VND per month; forcing trucks of all businesses to stick the logo "SAFETY IS YOUR FRIEND, ACCIDENTS ARE YOUR ENEMY" to travel in Hanoi without being checked, any vehicle that does not stick this logo is often weighed, ticketed to the point of being unable to travel. This "protection" activity has lasted for many years in Hanoi, affecting the socio-political situation, oppressing other businesses, causing public outrage. This complaint also accuses a number of Hanoi Traffic Inspectors and Hanoi Traffic Police of "protecting" the above "royal car" logo.
Through investigation, the police agency determined: In order to facilitate the circulation of overloaded trucks, or those who violated traffic laws but did not want to be punished or punished with a lesser violation than the violation, Nguyen Anh Hao and Le Van Cuong discussed with Pham Van Vinh to use the name of Tuan Vinh Investment, Trade and Transport Joint Stock Company, of which Vinh was the General Director, to design a logo with the words "Tuan Vinh Company" (later changed to "SAFETY IS A FRIEND, ACCIDENTS ARE ENEMY") and to search for and invite truck owners (often carrying goods exceeding the permitted weight) to pay money to Vinh and Hao to "interact" with state officials in the field of road traffic every month, so that the trucks would not be inspected when in circulation, or their violations would be ignored, or their penalties would be lighter than their violations. According to the assignment, Hao and Vinh were responsible for mobilizing and inviting truck owners to pay money and stick the logo of “Tuan Vinh Company” so that Hao and Vinh could “relate” with state officials with the authority to handle violations in the field of road traffic. Cuong was responsible for notifying Vinh or Hao when he was on duty as a traffic inspector at a checkpoint so that Vinh and Hao could inform drivers to avoid that area and route.
With the above form, from June 2016 to October 2018, the defendants collected a total of more than 6.2 billion VND to carry out bribery, of which: Le Ba Dung (officer of the Traffic Inspection Team of Hoang Mai District) received 96 million VND, Nguyen Quoc Cuong (officer of the Traffic Inspection Team of Hai Ba Trung District) received 63 million VND, Tran Sy Cuong (officer of the Mobile Traffic Inspection Team of the Hanoi Department of Transport) received 136 million VND, Hoang Van Lan (officer of the Traffic Inspection Team of Phu Xuyen District) received 11 million VND and 1 bottle of wine from Vinh and Hao so that during the performance of their duties, they would ignore or if inspected, they would impose a lighter fine than the actual penalty for trucks with the logo of Tuan Vinh Company.
The prosecution agency also determined that in this case, defendant Nguyen Anh Hao benefited 250 million VND, Le Van Cuong benefited 180 million VND, and Pham Van Vinh benefited 140 million VND.
After collecting money, go meet with the officers in charge of the transport sector.
During the investigation, Nguyen Anh Hao and Pham Van Vinh also stated: After collecting money from the drivers, on the last or first days of each month, Vinh and Hao would split up to meet and give money to officers of units with the function of inspecting and handling in the field of transportation, including: Traffic Inspectors of districts; Traffic Police officers of some Teams of the Traffic Police Department - City Police, Traffic Police Teams of District Police, Police Team 113, Public Order Police of District Police in Hanoi... with the amount from 1.5 million VND to 60 million VND/person.
Regarding the monthly payment of money to the Traffic Inspectorate and Traffic Police (from June 2016 to October 2018), Hao always made a list, clearly stating the amount of money paid to each person and each team with a large number of people and a very large amount of money, but when handing over the money, there were no receipts.
The investigation agency has conducted an investigation, collected documents; summoned, taken statements, and confronted 90 people with Hao and Vinh, but they did not admit to receiving money as the two defendants had stated. Apart from the defendants' statements and the list made by Hao, there were no other documents, so there was not enough basis for criminal proceedings. Therefore, the Hanoi People's Procuracy has issued a document requesting the Director of the Hanoi Police Department and the Director of the Hanoi Department of Transport to inspect and consider handling according to the provisions of law./.
