Three more arrested in Vietnam corruption scandal ?
HANOI - Vietnamese police have arrested three more people for embezzlement and forging documents as an investigation continues into a major corruption scandal, state-controlled media reported Wednesday. Chu Chat Chinh, a senior official at the state-owned Oil and Gas Institute; Bui Duc Bao, an executive of a company under the National Administration of Tourism; and Nguyen Van Thanh, a boat pilot, were taken into custody Tuesday, the Youth newspaper said.
The newspaper said Chinh, former deputy director of the Sea Projects Construction Institute, was accused of illegally pocketing 40 million dong (US$2,500) while assigned to design the foundation for a gas depot in southern Ba Ria Vung Tau province.
Bao is accused of embezzling 80 million dong (US$5,000) from the payment his company received for filling land to make the foundation, while Thanh allegedly forged documents to evade tax on concrete pillars he transported for the depot's piling, it said. No court dates have been set in the cases.
On Monday, police arrested Nguyen Van Tuong, director of a state-owned Oil and Gas Construction Co. affiliate, for alleged embezzlement involving the gas depot, the Youth newspaper had reported. Five other senior officials of National Oil and Gas Corp. affiliates have been arrested in recent months for alleged corruption involving the project, which was completed two years behind schedule.
The depot has sunk up to 1 meter (3 feet) and is expected to cost the government more than 100 billion dong (US$6.4 million; euro 4.9 million) to repair, the newspaper said.
The Associated Press - November 10, 2004
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