Vietnam arrests top oil executives for corruption
HANOI - Four top executives from subsidiaries of Vietnam's largest oil and gas company have been arrested for allegedly causing losses of US$8.5 million (euro 7 million) as the government continues its campaign on corruption, state-controlled media reported Thursday.
Nguyen Trong Nhung, 59, director of Oil and Gas Design and Construction Company; Bi Van Tu, 58, deputy head of Petro-Vietnam's project management board; Dang Dinh Binh, 48, director of the Oil and Gas Projects' Repair Enterprise; and Dang Huu Quy, 51, director of the Oil and Gas Investment and Construction Consultant Company, were all taken into police custody Wednesday, the People's Army newspaper said.
All companies are subsidiaries of the state-owned oil and gas monopoly, PetroVietnam. The four were accused of "lack of responsibility causing serious consequences" involving the construction of a gas pipeline, it said.
Nhung, the project's contractor, hired subcontractors that used inferior equipment, causing a storage tank to sink, it said. The project also went over budget US$14 million (euro 11.5 million) and was completed two years behind schedule in 2001, the newspaper said.
Several senior PetroVietnam officials have recently been dismissed or arrested for corruption or mismanagement, including the firing of PetroVietnam's chief executive officer and his deputy in May 2003.
The Associated Press - August 26, 2004.
|