Prosecution of former Chairman of Education Publishing House for receiving bribes of nearly 25 billion VND

The Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency has just issued the investigation conclusion of the case of Giving -briberyViolations of bidding regulations causing serious consequences occurred at Vietnam Education Publishing House Company Limited (Education Publishing House) and related units.

Among the defendants, Mr. Nguyen Duc Thai, former Chairman of the Education Publishing House, was accused of receiving bribes of nearly VND25 billion. The defendants To My Ngoc, Chairman of Phung Vinh Hung Paper Joint Stock Company, and Nguyen Tri Minh, Director of Minh Cuong Phat Paper Company Limited, were proposed to be prosecuted for giving bribes.

In addition, five former leaders and employees of the Education Publishing House were proposed to be prosecuted for violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences, including: Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuy, former Head of the Marketing Planning Department; Dinh Quoc Khanh, former Deputy Head of the Printing Department; Pham Gia Thach, former Member of the Board of Members; Hoang Le Bach and Le Hoang Hai, both former Deputy Directors.

According to the investigation, in 2017, Nguyen Duc Thai was appointed Chairman of the Education Publishing House. At the request of To My Ngoc, Chairman of Phung Vinh Hung Paper Joint Stock Company and Nguyen Tri Minh, Director of Minh Cuong Phat Paper Company Limited, Mr. Thai directed the bidding for printing paper in violation of regulations.

These defendants chose to purchase printing paper using the shortened competitive bidding method, contrary to the provisions of the Bidding Law, to limit the participation of qualified contractors; disclosed information before issuing the request documents, colluded and legalized the bidding procedure to create conditions for Phung Vinh Hung Company and Minh Cuong Phat Company to supply printing paper to the Education Publishing House.

The appraisal results showed that with 7 printing paper bidding packages, the defendants in the case caused losses of more than 10 billion VND. In addition, in order to participate and win the bidding, the group of defendants To My Ngoc and Nguyen Tri Minh bribed Nguyen Duc Thai many times.

According to the investigation results, since 2017, To My Ngoc met, raised the issue, promised to thank and was agreed by Nguyen Duc Thai to create conditions for her to participate in and win the bid to supply printing paper for textbooks and exercise books for the 2018-2019 school year.

After winning the bid, Ngoc prepared 3 billion VND in a paper bag. Then, Ngoc texted Mr. Thai to arrange a meeting and he agreed.

Ngoc carried the bag of money to Mr. Thai's office on the 9th floor of the Education Publishing House (Tran Hung Dao Street, Hanoi), placed it next to the coffee table and said it was "a small thank you gift". When Ngoc returned, Mr. Thai opened the bag to check and put the money in the safe in the office.

From 2018 to 2021, To My Ngoc's companies participated in and won 10 bids, with a total value of 1,593 billion VND. After receiving help from Thai, winning the bid and signing the contract, To My Ngoc went to the office of the Director of the Education Publishing House and regularly gave 4 billion VND/year to express her gratitude.

For 4 consecutive years, the way of giving money was the same, usually at the end of the year or the beginning of the year. Ngoc prepared 4 billion VND (including 8 piles, each pile of 10 ingots, each ingot of 50 million, wrapped tightly, put in a Tet gift bag). Then, Ngoc carried it with her, brought it to Nguyen Duc Thai's office and left it.

In addition, on the occasion of Lunar New Year from 2018 to 2022, To My Ngoc regularly thanked Mr. Thai 200 million VND/year, a total of 1 billion VND.

The prosecution agency accused Mr. Thai of receiving bribes from To My Ngoc totaling 20 billion VND and helping Ngoc's group of companies win 13 bid packages, with a total value of more than 2,100 billion VND.

Regarding Nguyen Tri Minh, Director of Minh Cuong Phat Paper Company, the investigation agency accused that in 2017, Minh also met Nguyen Duc Thai, introducing himself as a long-time paper supplier for the Education Publishing House.

Minh proposed and Thai agreed to create conditions for Minh Cuong Phat Company to continue supplying paper to the Education Publishing House. After that, Minh Cuong Phat Company was shortlisted and participated in and won a bid. In return, defendant Minh "gave" the Director 400 million VND along with a box of cakes and a bottle of wine.

To win the next bids, Minh bribed Nguyen Duc Thai many times, totaling more than 4 billion VND. Minh Cuong Phat Paper Company was therefore awarded 5 bids from the Education Publishing House, with a total value of more than 200 billion VND.

The investigation agency believes that purchasing printing paper to serve the printing of educational books is a regular activity of the Education Publishing House, carried out annually, the price of printing paper accounts for 30-40% of the price structure of textbooks, purchasing printing paper at a high price will increase the price of books.

Purchasing printing paper through competitive bidding allows investors to decide on the shortlist, limiting the participation of capable suppliers with good quality and low prices, not ensuring competition, fairness, transparency and economic efficiency.