On 8/9, Nguyen Duy Hung, former Chairman of Thuan An Group, along with Tran Quang Anh, former General Director, and Nguyen Khac Man, former Deputy General Director, are scheduled to stand trial in Hanoi for bid-rigging in various projects across Tuyen Quang, Bac Giang, Hanoi, and Quang Ninh provinces, causing estimated damages of 120 billion VND.

Also appearing in court are individuals with "close relationships" to Thuan An, including Pham Thai Ha, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office and former assistant to the former National Assembly Chairman, prosecuted for abusing his position for personal gain; and Le O Pich, former Vice Chairman of Bac Giang Province’s People's Committee, for abuse of power.

Pham Thai Ha, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office and former assistant to the former National Assembly Chairman. Photo: National Assembly Media

Pham Thai Ha, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office and former assistant to the former National Assembly Chairman. Photo: National Assembly Media

The trial, presided over by Judge Vu Quang Huy, Deputy Chief Justice of the Hanoi People's Court's Criminal Division, is expected to last several days. Over 40 lawyers have registered to defend the 29 defendants.

The panel of judges has summoned five civil plaintiffs, including Project Management Boards of the involved provinces and the Vietnam Road Administration - Ministry of Construction.

Like many other major bid-rigging cases, this one revolves around favors, lobbying, and leveraging money and power with high-ranking officials to secure important projects for unqualified companies. In each locality, Thuan An received different forms of preferential treatment. In return, the company reciprocated with corresponding "care" for its "benefactors."

Tailoring bid documents

The first violation mentioned in the Supreme People's Procuracy’s indictment involves the Dong Viet Bridge project in Yen Dung district, Bac Giang province, in 2021. Leveraging a pre-existing relationship, Thuan An’s Chairman asked Pham Thai Ha to introduce him to and influence the Bac Giang Provincial Party Secretary to favor Thuan An for the project.

During a December 2021 dinner with the Bac Giang Provincial Standing Committee at the National Assembly Chairman's residence, Ha introduced Hung to the Provincial Party Secretary, describing Thuan An Group as "a capable unit, asking for consideration for the Dong Viet Bridge project."

The Party Secretary kept his word, subsequently influencing Thao, Director of the Project Management Board, to favor Thuan An Group. During this time, Thuan An's Chairman also met with provincial leaders several times to "request" the project.

Pich, then Vice Chairman of Bac Giang, also actively urged and directed the expedited progress of the project, facilitating Thuan An's successful bid, the indictment states.

Nguyen Van Thao at the groundbreaking ceremony of Dong Viet Bridge in June 2022, accused of receiving 11 billion VND from Thuan An. Photo: Bac Ninh Newspaper

Nguyen Van Thao at the groundbreaking ceremony of Dong Viet Bridge in June 2022, accused of receiving 11 billion VND from Thuan An. Photo: Bac Ninh Newspaper

Having secured the officials’ support, Thuan An’s Chairman then addressed the second challenge: finding a truly qualified company to form a joint venture. Trung Chinh Company was chosen. According to the indictment, this company had the expertise in high-technology suspension bridge construction, sufficient for independent implementation, "but lacked connections within the province."

Hung also invited other capable companies as subcontractors, forming a consortium. They agreed that Thuan An would be the primary liaison with the provincial investor, while other consortium members would handle their areas of expertise.

Due to the provincial leaders’ directives, Thuan An received draft technical design and cost estimate documents for review and input, allowing them to influence the consulting unit to adjust the documents to their liking. They were also provided with draft bidding documents for review and subsequently requested changes to the bidding criteria to "match" Thuan An's capabilities.

The prosecution stated that despite these advantages, Thuan An still lacked the necessary qualifications and fabricated construction contracts, falsely claiming to have completed a project in Ninh Thuan 10 years prior.

After three weeks of bidding, only one contractor submitted a bid and subsequently won: the Thuan An consortium.

Le O Pich, former Vice Chairman of Bac Giang Province’s People's Committee, accused of receiving 4 billion VND. Photo: BGP

Le O Pich, former Vice Chairman of Bac Giang Province’s People's Committee, accused of receiving 4 billion VND. Photo: BGP

After winning the bid, the Project Management Board Director agreed to Thuan An’s request for a 3% "facilitation fee" of the pre-tax contract value (over 1,100 billion VND). Thuan An then asked the consortium members to contribute, totaling 92 billion VND.

Thao also received 11 billion VND from the consortium, while his deputy, Dam Van Cuong, received 3.75 billion VND. Vice Chairman Pich received 4 billion VND. Pham Thai Ha received 750 million VND in cash and gifts directly from Thuan An’s Chairman at his home.

Tampering with bids

The Tuyen Quang - Phu Tho expressway project, approved by the Prime Minister in 2019, had its first phase, valued at 488 billion VND, managed by the Tuyen Quang Province’s Project Management Board.

Again leveraging acquaintances, Thuan An’s Chairman met Tran Viet Cuong, then Director of the Project Management Board, to request the project. Cuong agreed, requiring a joint venture with Hiep Phu and Licogi 14 for implementation. Cuong also facilitated a meeting between the three company owners to coordinate their bids and instructed his subordinates to provide the companies with a copy of the detailed cost estimate for the project.

Lacking construction capacity, Thuan An partnered with another company to perform the work if they won the bid, with Thuan An only supplying materials. They also colluded to recruit "dummy bidders" and strategized their bids to create a facade for the bidding process.

In November 2023, Tran Viet Cuong was elected Chairman of Tuyen Quang City’s People's Committee with 100% of the votes. Five months later, he was arrested. Photo: TTV

In November 2023, Tran Viet Cuong was elected Chairman of Tuyen Quang City’s People's Committee with 100% of the votes. Five months later, he was arrested. Photo: TTV

By the bidding deadline, three entities had submitted bids: the Thuan An consortium and the two "dummy bidders." Thuan An's incomplete bid was still considered, and the Project Management Board "facilitated" its submission 17 days late.

With the Project Management Board Director’s approval, two officials opened the sealed bids and replaced Thuan An's with a complete version, ensuring their pre-determined win, according to the indictment.

Similar to the Bac Giang project, Thuan An's Chairman collected a 14% "facilitation fee" from the contractors, totaling 9.8 billion VND, on the premise that they secured the project thanks to Thuan An's connections.

For his assistance, Cuong received 12.5 billion VND from the Thuan An - Hiep Phu - Licogi 14 consortium, and his subordinates received an additional 160 million VND.

Secret pre-bid evaluations

In Hanoi, the Vinh Tuy 2 Bridge project, approved in 2020, became Thuan An's next target. Hung again leveraged his relationship with Pham Thai Ha, then Assistant to the Hanoi Party Secretary.

Ha introduced Hung to Pham Hoang Tuan, then Director of the Hanoi Project Management Board, to request the project. "Knowing Hung's connections with high-ranking officials," Tuan not only agreed but also urged his deputy and subordinates to assist, the indictment states.

Shortly after, when a second company also "requested" the project, Tuan agreed to let them form a joint venture with Thuan An. The Thuan An - Cau 7 Thang Long Company consortium was formed, splitting the contract 70-30.

Pham Hoang Tuan, former Director of the Hanoi Project Management Board. Photo: Vo Hai

Pham Hoang Tuan, former Director of the Hanoi Project Management Board. Photo: Vo Hai

Three entities submitted bids by the deadline. This time, Thuan An didn’t use "dummy bidders" but received support from the Project Management Board in a different way. The Supreme People’s Procuracy alleges that Tran Quang Anh, Thuan An's General Director, colluded with Trinh Van Thanh, then Deputy Head of a department at the Hanoi Project Management Board, to gather the three bids for Bui Thanh Tuan (Deputy Director of CFTD Company, the bid consulting and evaluation firm) to review and evaluate in advance. Tuan would then point out any deficiencies to Thuan An, "ensuring their victory over the other two bidders."

With this support, the Thuan An - Cau 7 Thang Long consortium won the 290 billion VND contract.

In gratitude, Thuan An's Chairman instructed his staff to distribute money to Project Management Board personnel according to a scale: the Director and Deputy Director each received 1%; the Supervision Department received 2% of the pre-tax payment; the Supervision Consulting Team received 0.5%, and so on.

To cover these payments, Hung collected a total of 9.3 billion VND in inflated fees from subcontractors and material suppliers, incorporating these costs into the acceptance documents, which were then paid by the investor, constituting the calculated damages.

Using similar tactics of lobbying officials, offering bribes, and colluding in bid-rigging, Thuan An secured two more projects in 2022 and 2023: the Ministry of Transport's (now the Ministry of Construction) 430 billion VND project to renovate and upgrade National Highway 14E in Quang Nam province; and the 706 billion VND project for a riverside road connecting the Ha Long - Hai Phong expressway to Dong Trieu town, a key project in Quang Ninh province.

Nguyen Duy Hung (left), Chairman of Thuan An Group, and General Director Tran Anh Quang. Photo: Ministry of Public Security

Nguyen Duy Hung (left), Chairman of Thuan An Group, and General Director Tran Anh Quang. Photo: Ministry of Public Security

The Supreme People's Procuracy alleges that the total damages caused by the defendants across the five provinces and ministries amount to 120 billion VND.

During the investigation and prosecution phase, authorities seized 10 billion VND and 30,000 USD; the defendants and related individuals voluntarily surrendered over 116 billion VND and 100,000 USD in restitution. Seven of Thuan An’s Chairman's accounts, totaling 32.5 billion VND, were also frozen.

Management loopholes

The Supreme People's Procuracy highlighted gaps and shortcomings in legal regulations governing state management of traffic construction, bidding, and auditing. "These are the root causes and contributing factors that led to the defendants' criminal acts," the prosecution stated.

The Supreme People's Procuracy also assessed that the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Construction, and the People's Committees of Bac Giang, Tuyen Quang, Hanoi, and Quang Ninh provinces failed to detect and address the violations of Thuan An Group and related companies in a timely manner.

The Supreme People's Procuracy recommends strengthening inspections of construction activities, ensuring the selection of qualified contractors, timely project completion, and fair and transparent bidding processes. Furthermore, they emphasize the need for stricter control and public disclosure of audit results from firms verifying companies' financial statements and revenue.

The investigation revealed that some individuals played varying roles and exhibited different levels of involvement but lacked sufficient grounds for criminal prosecution or did not reach the threshold for criminal liability. The Ministry of Public Security's investigative agency has documented these violations and recommended disciplinary actions by relevant management agencies according to regulations.

Violations by other individuals will continue to be investigated and addressed.

Thanh Lam - Pham Du