Tất Thành Cang. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The People’s Procuracy of HCM City on Wednesday commenced legal proceedings against Tất Thành Cang, former permanent vice secretary of the municipal Party Committee, to investigate alleged “violations of regulations on management and use of State assets, causing losses”.

Cang was accused of being involved in several violations found at the State-owned real estate company, South Saigon Development JSC (Sadeco).

Inspectors allege that in 2017 the Tân Thuận Industrial Promotion Company Ltd (IPC), a wholly-owned investment firm of the city, had complied with Cang’s order to sell its stake in Sadeco to private electronics retailer Nguyễn Kim without proper authorisation from the HCM City People’s Committee.

The IPC reduced its ownership in Sadeco from 44 per cent to 28.8 per cent by selling 9 million shares to Nguyễn Kim.

The selling price was estimated to be nearly 30 per cent lower than what another shareholder in Sadeco had got from Nguyễn Kim in September 2016, resulting in a loss of at least VNĐ153 billion (US$6.6 million) to the city budget.

The divestment was conducted at a time when Sadeco was recording high profits as real estate prices in HCM City were surging.

The divestment resulted in Nguyễn Kim becoming the controlling shareholder of Sadeco with a 54 per cent stake.

At the 12th Party Central Committee’s ninth session in December 2018, the committee dismissed Cang from his posts as a member of the 12th Party Central Committee, Vice Secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee and member of the committee’s standing board in 2015-2020 for his serious violations.

During its 31st session in November 2018, the Inspection Commission of the Party Central Committee concluded that Cang had flouted the principle of democratic centralism, as well as the municipal Party Committee’s authority and working regulations on asset management and use in enterprises owned by the municipal Party Committee.

Cang was found to have contravened stipulations on deciding the business co-operation policy and transferring of project ownership as well as land-use rights among the companies. He was also accused of allowing the Party Committee’s capital representative to vote on the issuance of stocks to strategic shareholders at enterprises.

He was charged with negligence, as well as being lax in management and in his inspection of the fields under his authority, which caused critical losses to the municipal Party Committee’s budget.

In addition, when Cang held the post of Director of the municipal Department of Transport, he broke the law to approve the construction of four main roads in the controversy-ridden Thủ Thiêm new urban area.

The Inspection Commission said Cang’s wrongdoings were serious, triggering social uproar while damaging the municipal Party Committee’s prestige. — VNS