The Hanoi People’s Court sentenced a former Director of Vietnam General Cooperation of Agricultural Materials to five years in jail for mismanagement of public assets.
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| The two defendants |
Tran Van Khanh, 62, director of the corporation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, worked with an accomplice, Nguyen Van Hieu. The latter was sentenced to 21 months and 9 days in prison.
Khanh was accused of colluding with Hieu to sign a fraudulent contract to import nearly 6,000 tonnes of urea fertilizer in 2003, then antedating the papers in order to profit from the disparity in prices.
Both were found guilty of taking VND1.6 billion (USD77,669) from the state. Of the sum, Khanh received VND1.5 billion (USD72,851), and Hieu got VND45 million (USD2,184).
Furthermore, in 2004, Tran Van Khanh used company funds to buy a Mercedes, valued at VND1.6 billion. But the car was in Nguyen Van Hieu’s name. This price surpassed regulations on the cost of vehicles for employees of state-owned corporations.
Still, Khanh instructed the accounting department to lease his own car, for the corporation, for his own use at VND48 million (USD2,300) per month. He then spent VND960 million (USD46,601) of the money he collected from the rental.
He used VND160 million (USD7,766) for painting and repairs. For the car case alone, Khanh appropriated over VND1.1 billion (USD53.398). In total he took VND2.62 billion from the state.
