On 2/4, the Environmental Crime Prevention Police Department (C05, Ministry of Public Security), in coordination with the Office of the Investigation Police Agency (C01), continued to clarify the misconduct of Hoang Van Thuc, former Director of the Environment Department, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development; and Tran Thi Minh Huong, Director of the Northern Environmental Monitoring Center (NCEM).

Thuc, Huong, and 11 other individuals are currently under investigation in a case involving violations of bidding regulations causing serious consequences, bribery, receiving bribes, abuse of power while on duty, and forgery of documents of agencies and organizations.

According to the investigation, NCEM was the unit tasked with managing water environmental monitoring stations. While serving as Deputy Director General of the Vietnam Environment Administration, Thuc directed Huong and her subordinates to provide internal information, facilitating the joint venture of Seiki Company and Toan Cau Company to prepare documents and participate in the bidding process early on.

Police determined that Thuc also directly participated in coordinating and arranging for these companies to form a joint venture to legitimize their capabilities and ensure their success in winning bids. Consequently, major projects such as the investment in building an air quality monitoring network phase one and the upgrade of the environmental monitoring system phase one were implemented.

As the head of the project management board, Thuc directly directed and "orchestrated" the entire bidding process. At the next level, Huong organized the implementation, instructing subordinates to provide internal information regarding equipment lists, technical configurations, and estimated prices, giving the companies early access.

Former Director Hoang Van Thuc. Photo: Gia Chinh

Former Director Hoang Van Thuc. Photo: Gia Chinh

This group intervened in multiple stages of the bidding process. When the tender was organized, Toan Cau Company lacked the capacity to execute independently, so Thuc directed it to form a joint venture with Seiki Company to legitimize its profile. The Director also embedded numerous criteria that only the Seiki Company - Toan Cau Company joint venture could meet. These criteria became technical barriers, preventing other companies from participating or qualifying for the bid.

According to the investigative agency, from the outset, the group of businesses and state officials discussed a "percentage fee". Dau Tuan Anh, Chairman of Seiki Company, and Le Duc Chien, Chairman of Toan Cau Company, met and agreed with Thuc to pay 8% of the pre-tax value of the bid package in exchange for favorable conditions to win.

Subsequently, Thuc directed Tran Huong to facilitate this joint venture's participation and win all three bid packages. As a result, all three large bid packages were won by the Seiki Company - Toan Cau Company joint venture, with a total value exceeding 473 billion dong.

After winning the bids and receiving payment, the companies "returned" 34,9 billion dong to Thuc and 6,4 billion dong to Huong. Additionally, several other individuals also received money for facilitating the project's execution. These payments were made multiple times, tied to the contract payment progress, to avoid detection.

Previously, C05 announced that it had initiated legal proceedings against 74 defendants for 10 charges in various cases. These individuals include officials and leaders in state environmental management agencies and belong to 59 businesses that discharge waste and install monitoring equipment nationwide.

Inspections of over 300 environmental monitoring stations from various emission sources revealed that nearly 160 stations had been tampered with, with data altered. When pollution indicators exceeded thresholds, triggering red alerts, factories would face production shutdowns. Therefore, businesses resorted to various methods to maintain their numbers within acceptable limits.