Police investigators working with alleged suspects in a major case involving the manipulation of environmental monitoring data.

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam has charged 74 suspects in a nationwide case involving the manipulation of environmental monitoring data, with investigators saying nearly 160 monitoring stations were tampered with to conceal illegal pollution.

The Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security said the suspects face 10 different charges tied to violations in environmental monitoring across multiple provinces and cities.

Those charged include individuals from 59 enterprises responsible for industrial discharge as well as firms installing monitoring equipment, alongside officials from state environmental management bodies.

Authorities said the case points to a systematic effort to falsify emissions data, undermining one of the government’s primary tools for environmental oversight.

According to regulations, large industrial facilities – including coal-fired power plants such as Quảng Ninh, Hải Phòng, and Thái Bình 2 – along with companies in the aluminium and steel sectors, had to install mandatory automatic monitoring systems at discharge points,  but the data sent to the provincial/municipal environment departments were "manipulated in a sophisticated manner," police said.

According to the Ministry of Public Security, suspects used software to remotely alter monitoring data, even though equipment was sealed and under camera surveillance. Pollution indicators were artificially reduced to ensure readings transmitted to provincial authorities remained within permitted limits.

Nearly 160 monitoring stations, roughly 55 per cent of the national total, were found to have been interfered with, investigators said.

Major General Thân Văn Hải, head of the Environmental Crime Prevention Police Department, said offenders had evolved their tactics, shifting from openly discharging pollutants to directly interfering with automatic monitoring systems.— VNS