Chung, Ta Quang Buu – former member of the Board of Members and deputy general director of Vicem – and five other individuals have been prosecuted by the Supreme People's Procuracy for violating regulations on the management and use of state assets, leading to losses and waste.

In the same case, four individuals face charges of violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences. Among the remaining three individuals prosecuted for both violating state asset management regulations and violating bidding regulations is Nguyen Ngoc Anh, former general director of Vicem.

A total of 14 individuals have been indicted in connection with the case.

The indictment states that as a state-owned enterprise, Vicem's business operations and investments must comply with legal regulations to safeguard state capital. However, defendants committed violations during the investment and construction of the "Vicem Operations and Transaction Center" project in Cau Giay New Urban Area, Hanoi.

The Vicem tower is located directly on Pham Hung street. Photo: Ngoc Thanh

Prosecutors allege that Vicem's leadership intentionally falsified financial indicators and economic efficiency assessments, resulting in the project remaining unfinished and unable to proceed.

Vicem's Board of Members approved the project's investment twice, based on fabricated data. The total investment levels were initially 1,951 billion dong and then 2,743 billion dong. Despite these figures being stated in the investment certificate, the company failed to make the required adjustments.

Construction on the project began on 6/5/2011. By 9/8/2015, the rough construction was completed and the building topped out, after which work ceased. A total of 1,245 billion dong was invested, but the facility remains unused and unexploited.

This action is alleged to have caused total losses and waste exceeding 381,6 billion dong. This amount includes over 206 billion dong in loan interest owed to BIDV bank, and more than 174 billion dong in interest generated from Vicem's own capital and interest on payments already made to the bank.

Vicem leaders allegedly split 5% "kickback"

Furthermore, during the execution of bidding package 19 for "diaphragm wall and bored pile construction," defendant Ngoc Anh is accused of colluding with Du Ngoc Long, head of the Project Management Board, and Do Dinh Thu, general director of ECON company, to gain personal benefits. The parties agreed to divert 5% of the payment for the bidding package back to Vicem in exchange for securing the construction contract.

Under Long's direction, staff from Vicem's Project Management Board collaborated with ECON to prepare bidding documents, enabling the company to win the contract as prearranged. Vicem subsequently paid ECON over 144 billion dong.

During the contract execution and payment settlement, ECON fabricated labor rental contracts valued at over 9,4 billion dong and equipment rental contracts worth over 6,2 billion dong. This led to damages exceeding 15,6 billion dong for the bidding package.

After securing the contract, defendant Thu provided Long with 3,25 billion dong, representing the initially agreed-upon 5% kickback. Long subsequently disbursed 800 million dong to Ngoc Anh, 200 million dong to Le Van Chung, and 350 million dong to Ta Quang Buu, retaining the remaining 1,9 billion dong for personal use.

Many project components are severely degraded and remain abandoned. Photo: Hoang Giang

According to the Supreme People's Procuracy, Chung played the most significant role in the case, bearing primary responsibility for the decision to construct a headquarters combined with rental offices. Despite knowing that the input revenue figures were inflated, Chung signed relevant documents to initiate and implement the project.

The former chairman of the Board of Members also directed an appraisal that reportedly adhered to regulations, yet he personally signed decisions approving a total project investment exceeding the amount stated in the investment certificate. This series of actions resulted in losses and waste exceeding 381,6 billion dong. During the investigation and prosecution, the defendants have paid over 2,6 billion dong in restitution.