Thousand-billion-dong gambling case: Nguyen Van Duong suspended for bribery

On the morning of November 13, the People's Court of Phu Tho province continued the first instance trial of Phan Van Vinh, former Director General of the General Department of Police; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Hoa, former Director of the Department of High-Tech Crime Prevention Police, and 90 accomplices in the case of "Using the internet to commit acts of property appropriation"; "Organizing gambling"; "Gambling"; "Illegal trading of invoices"; "Money laundering"; "Abusing positions and powers while performing official duties".

At the beginning of the working session, the representative of the People's Procuracy of Phu Tho province continued to announce the 235-page indictment. It is expected that in the morning and early afternoon of November 13, the People's Procuracy of Phu Tho province will continue to read the indictment and in the second half of the afternoon of November 13, the questioning will be conducted.

According to the indictment of the People's Procuracy of Phu Tho province, during the investigation, Nguyen Van Duong confessed that: Because Phan Van Vinh and Nguyen Thanh Hoa created conditions for him to organize online gambling on the Internet, when he had income from operating the gambling organization, Duong confessed that he gave Phan Van Vinh 01 Rolex watch worth 7,000 USD, 27 billion VND; 1,750,000 USD; 01 shirt, 01 bottle of liver tonic; 0700 million VND to the Department of High-Tech Crime Prevention Police (C50), 01 anti-virus software set worth 30,000 USD and 22 billion VND to Nguyen Thanh Hoa (former Director of C50).

At the investigation agency, Phan Van Vinh admitted to violating the law in directing and facilitating Nguyen Van Duong and his accomplices to organize online gambling on the Internet.

However, Mr. Phan Van Vinh denied Duong's statement that he gave him 27 billion VND and 1,750,000 USD..Regarding the Rolex watch worth 7,000 USD that Duong claimed to have given to Mr. Vinh, the former police general said he paid Duong 1.1 billion VND for the watch. Mr. Vinh lost this watch.

Mr. Vinh only admitted that Duong gave him 1 shirt, 1 bottle of liver tonic, supported the General Department of Police in exchange programs, charity work worth 1.1 billion VND and some receptions at the General Department of Police that Duong attended (according to Duong, all the meals he attended brought wine with a total value of more than 10 billion VND).

Meanwhile, former director Nguyen Thanh Hoa only admitted that Duong supported the C50 group with a total of 700 million VND and a Symantec anti-virus software package worth 30,000 USD, but did not admit that Duong gave him 22 billion VND.

Due to the contradiction in the statements between Nguyen Van Duong and Phan Van Vinh about giving and receiving property, while no evidence was collected, the Security Agency separated this behavior of Phan Van Vinh, and will handle it later when it is clarified. It also recorded Nguyen Van Duong's confession and handled it immediately in this case.

Regarding Duong's declaration that he gave the Crime Prevention Police Department 700 million VND and an anti-virus software set worth 30,000 USD, the Investigation Agency has now proven this to be true.

The indictment concluded: “Implementing the State's leniency policy as prescribed in Point c, Clause 2, Article 29 and Paragraph 2, Clause 7, Article 364 of the 2015 Penal Code, amended and supplemented in 2017, on August 31, 2018, the People's Procuracy of Phu Tho province issued Decision No. 02/KSĐT-P2 to suspend the criminal liability of Nguyen Van Duong for the crime of Bribery”./.