Binh was recently recommended for prosecution by the investigative police agency of the Ministry of Public Security on three charges: violating regulations on state asset management and use causing losses and waste, bribery, and lack of responsibility causing damage to state assets.

Among the 30 other defendants in the case, Le Ngoc Hung, former vice chairman of the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee, and Do Truong Giang, former director of the Lao Cai Provincial Department of Industry and Trade, face charges of abuse of power while performing official duties.

According to the investigation findings, Viet Trung Mineral and Metallurgy Company Limited (VTM) was approved for establishment by the former Ministry of Planning and Investment, following a report from Vietnam Steel Corporation (VNS) to the Prime Minister. VTM was formed to undertake two projects: the Quy Xa iron mine and the Lao Cai iron and steel plant in the Tang Loong industrial park.

VTM's license served three purposes: supplying VTM's Lao Cai iron and steel plants, supplying the Tisco II project, and exporting iron ore concentrate to import coking coal. During the project's implementation, delays and losses led to VTM being classified among the 12 inefficient projects in the industry and trade sector.

Police determined that after being appointed as the capital representative and general director of VTM by VNS, Binh directly managed the company's production and business operations, including the sale of iron ore from the Quy Xa mine. However, instead of selling at market prices, Binh colluded with representatives of several businesses to reduce prices by 50,000 to 70,000 VND per ton. In return, these businesses paid him off-contract funds.

According to the investigative agency's accusations, Binh directed the creation of pricing plans at the predetermined rates, which were then submitted to the Board of Directors of the Member Council (HDTV) for approval. Despite knowing the selling prices were below market rates, members of the Board of Directors, the chief accountant, and several HDTV members still signed off on the documents.

Initially, pricing plans were also sent to VNS for input from the capital representative. However, from mid-2017, the capital representative at VTM was granted autonomous decision-making authority and responsibility, allowing ore sales to continue without reporting.

The defendants in the case. Photo: Ministry of Public Security

Over five consecutive years, from 2015 to 2020, Binh signed 30 iron ore sales contracts with 18 businesses. Of these, 25 contracts were executed with 16 businesses, selling nearly 5,8 million tons of ore valued at almost 2.951 billion VND.

Police determined that all this ore was sold below market price by 50,000 to 70,000 VND per ton. The low-price sales were carried out according to prior agreements with businesses. This conduct by Binh and his subordinates caused damages exceeding 434,7 billion VND to state assets.

Binh received 53,3 billion VND in "thank you" money from 8 businesses. Of this, 43,8 billion VND was identified as belonging to the period with sufficient grounds for bribery charges. He used about 3,8 billion VND to pay some employees, returned 1,5 billion VND to two businesses, and kept over 48 billion VND for personal use.

Received 'commissions' from coking coal suppliers

Beyond ore trading violations, Binh and his associates are also accused of irregularities in purchasing coking coal for production. In 2015, Binh accepted an offer from the leaders of Viet Phat Company and Trung Thanh Thai Nguyen Company to regularly supply coking coal to VTM.

In return, the two businesses promised to pay Binh 40,000 to 200,000 VND per ton of coking coal. Binh agreed and instructed the Materials Department to coordinate the implementation.

In the initial phase, even though supplier selection was supposedly conducted through competitive bidding, the responsible officials used fabricated quotes to legitimize the documents. This ensured Viet Phat and Trung Thanh Thai Nguyen companies secured the contracts.

When VTM was required to conduct tenders to meet bank loan conditions, the methods changed. Many contracts were divided into smaller lots under 10,000 tons to avoid requiring Member Council approval. From 2015 to 2020, Viet Phat and Trung Thanh Thai Nguyen signed 38 contracts, supplying nearly 287,000 tons of coking coal to VTM with a total value exceeding 2.020 billion VND.

After each contract phase, representatives from the two businesses repeatedly gave Binh money, totaling over 25 billion VND. Of this, 18,4 billion VND was identified as belonging to the period with sufficient grounds for bribery charges.

According to the findings, in addition to the alleged 62,2 billion VND in bribes, Binh also violated regulations on state asset management and use, causing losses and waste exceeding 434,7 billion VND. He and his subordinates also lacked responsibility, causing damage to state assets of over 46,29 billion VND.