Prosecution of former Deputy Minister Hoang Quoc Vuong for causing damage of more than 1,043 billion VND
The Supreme People's Procuracy has just completed the indictment to prosecute Mr. Hoang Quoc Vuong (born 1963, former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade) for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties".
Regarding the case, Mr. Phuong Hoang Kim (born in 1973, former Director of the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy, Ministry of Industry and Trade) and 10 other defendants were prosecuted for the crime of ''Taking advantage of position and power while performing official duties'' and ''Lack of responsibility causing serious consequences''.
According to the accusation, Mr. Hoang Quoc Vuong, during his time as Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, was assigned to be in charge of the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy. From August 31, 2018 to April 6, 2020, he directly directed and advised on the drafting of Decision No. 13/2020/QD-TTg.
During the performance of his duties, Mr. Vuong clearly understood the Government's policies (Resolution 115/NQ-CP), the Prime Minister's instructions at meetings on mechanisms and policies to support Ninh Thuan province for solar power projects.
However, due to the motive of profit (having received 1.5 billion VND from Mr. Nguyen Tam Thinh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung Nam Thuan Nam Company), Mr. Vuong took advantage of his assigned position and authority, intentionally directed the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy to draft Decision No. 13 in the direction of expanding the subjects entitled to preferential electricity prices and agreed on the proposal for the Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant project to be approved for additional planning, requesting a price mechanism of 9.35 Uscents/kWh for this project.
Mr. Vuong's abuse of power and authority to violate his official duties resulted in losses of more than VND1,043 billion to Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN).
The accusation also states that Mr. Phuong Hoang Kim, during his time as Director of the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy from August 31, 2012 to April 6, 2020, was assigned to be the head of the drafting team, directly responsible for drafting Decision No. 13.
During the performance of his duties, Mr. Kim clearly understood the Government's policies and the Prime Minister's instructions at meetings on mechanisms and policies to support Ninh Thuan province for solar power projects.
However, because he wanted to create unfair conditions for the Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant to be added to the planning to enjoy the preferential electricity price of 9.35 Uscents/kWh, Mr. Kim took advantage of his assigned position and authority, intentionally pushing the responsibility to Mr. Do Duc Quan, Deputy Director of the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy, as the head of the drafting team, but Mr. Vuong did not agree.
According to the accusation, Mr. Kim did not direct the drafting team, the Department of Electricity and Renewable Energy to draft Decision No. 13 in accordance with Resolution 115 and the direction of the Prime Minister; did not report to the leaders of the Ministry of Industry and Trade about the draft content contrary to Resolution No. 115, the purpose of which was for the Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant to enjoy preferential electricity prices; directly advised and proposed to supplement the planning on preferential electricity prices for the Trung Nam - Thuan Nam Solar Power Plant.
Mr. Kim's act of taking advantage of his position and power and violating his official duties resulted in a loss of more than VND 1,043 billion to EVN.
According to the Supreme People's Procuracy, the actions of Mr. Hoang Quoc Vuong, Phuong Hoang Kim and other defendants are very serious, infringing on the reputation and proper operation of state management agencies, reducing people's trust, causing great damage to state assets, so they need to be strictly handled according to regulations.
