HÀ NỘI — The Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission has decided to consider disciplinary action against seven former top executives of the National Oil and Gas Group (PVN), including a member of the Politburo, for causing severe economic losses and negatively affecting the prestige of the Party. 

The Commission found that the PVN Party Committee’s Standing Board was negligent in advising the PVN Party Committee on a 2009 resolution that approved illegal contract packages, and a 2011 resolution on investing in OceanBank contrary to the Law on Credit Institutions, which resulted in a loss of VNĐ900 billion (US$39.59 million), including VNĐ800 billion ($35.19 million) to OceanBank.

The Commission asked the Party Committee of the Central Business Bloc to take quick disciplinary action against the PVN Party Committee’s Standing Board.

Đinh La Thăng

The Commission also proposed that the Party’s Political Bureau and Central Committee consider disciplinary measures against former Secretary of the Party Committee and former Chairman of the Member Council of PVN, Đinh La Thăng, who is now a Politburo member and Secretary of the HCM City Party Committee. It found that Thăng bore prime responsibility for resolutions and wrongdoings by the Party Committee’s Standing Board and the Member Council of PVN in 2009-11.

He was found to have violated regulations of the group’s Board of Directors by signing an agreement on contributing 20 per cent and upwards of OceanBank’s capital before getting approval of the Board of Directors.

Thăng was also responsible for the Member Council’s resolutions authorising bidding packages violating Government decrees and advising the Prime Minister to designate many bidding packages that failed to meet legal regulations.

He was found responsible for violations of the Law on Bidding relating to the engineering, procurement and construction contract for Dung Quất Biofuel Plant, as well as the low investment efficiency in a number of projects, including the Đình Vũ Polyester manufacturing plant and bio-energy projects.

Phùng Đình Thực

It decided to retroactively remove Phùng Đình Thực from the position of Secretary of the PVN Party Committee in the 2010-15 tenure over his accountability for violations of the PVN Party Committee’s Standing Board in 2011-14.

Thực, who is former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, a member of the Board of Directors and General Director of PVN in 2008-10, and Secretary of the firm’s Party Committee and Chairman of the Member Council from September 2011-July 2014, was also identified as responsible for issuing the two damaging resolutions.

He also violated organisation and personnel regulations, gave wrong assessments about Trịnh Xuân Thanh on his transfer to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and did not take into account violations by Nguyễn Xuân Sơn when he worked as Director General of OceanBank. Thực was also found responsible for violations in the Đình Vũ Polyester manufacturing plant and bio-energy projects. 

Đỗ Văn Hậu

Đỗ Văn Hậu, former Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, member of the Member Council and General Director of PVN from November 2011-October 2014, was dismissed from his position as Deputy Secretary of the PVN Party Committee for the 2010-15 period, as he was found to have links with the issuance of Resolutions 233/NQ-ĐU and 4266/NQ-DKVN.

Hậu irresponsibly provided wrong assessments of Trịnh Xuân Thanh and Vũ Đình Duy on their transfer to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, took responsibility for accrediting Nguyễn Xuân Sơn and for violations in the Đình Vũ Polyester manufacturing plant and bio-energy projects. 

Nguyễn Xuân Son

Meanwhile, the Commission decided to expel Nguyễn Xuân Sơn, former Secretary of the PVN Party Committee and Chairman of the Member Council, from the Party for being responsible for the PVN Party Committee’s Standing Board’s violations in the 2010-15 period as well as the issuance of the two above mentioned resolutions.

Sơn was found to abuse his position and authority and intentionally act against the State’s regulations on economic management, causing severe losses when he represented the PVN at OceanBank. Sơn is being apprehended in service of investigations. Sơn is the only one of the suspects to have been arrested.

Bình Định violations

The Commission issued a warning against Nguyễn Quốc Khánh, former Secretary of Party Committee, Chairman of the Member Council, former member of the Party Committee’s Standing Board and former Deputy Director General of the firm, for violations of the PVN Party Committee’s Standing Board in 2010-15, and the issuance of the two said resolutions.

He got involved in legal violations in assigning contracts for the Long Phú 1 and Thái Bình 2 thermal power plants, the Đình Vũ Polyester manufacturing plant and bio-energy projects. 
Regarding violations in the south-central province of Bình Định, the Commission asked the Party Secretariat to consider punishments of Nguyễn Văn Thiện, former Party Central Committee member and former Secretary of the Bình Định Party Committee, for wrongdoings in illegal appointments of officials who failed to meet conditions and standards for the posts during the 2010-15 period.

It also decided to reprimand Lê Hữu Lộc, former Deputy Secretary of the provincial Party Committee and former Chairman of the People’s Committee of Bình Định for his violations in recruiting and deciding on salary levels for public servants against regulations in the 2011-16 tenure. — VNS