Hoàng Văn Thức when he was in the office. VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Hoàng Văn Thức, former general director of the Environment Department (under the formerly Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources),  has been arrested on allegations that he and his subordinates accepted VNĐ35 billion (US$1.4 million) in graft in connection with an automatic air quality monitoring project.

The Environmental Crime Prevention Police Department (C05) under the Ministry of Public Security, on Monday (March 30) coordinated with the Investigation Police Agency of Hà Nội to initiate legal proceedings against Thức and ten others.

They are being investigated for offences including violations of bidding regulations causing serious consequences, giving bribes, and receiving bribes.

Initial findings indicated that violations occurred in projects to invest in and build air environment monitoring networks and upgrade environmental monitoring systems at the Northern Environmental Monitoring Centre under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, as well as at related units nation-wide.

These projects are part of a system of 18 automatic air quality monitoring stations across the country, invested in and managed by the Environment Department since 2020.

The stations are installed in public areas to monitor air quality and issue pollution warnings for localities.

A consortium of Seiky Group Joint Stock Company and Global Technical Joint Stock Company supplied the monitoring systems.

According to investigators, after winning the contracts, the companies paid VNĐ35 billion ($1.4 million) to Thức.

To generate funds for these off-contract payments, the contractors allegedly inflated the prices of imported equipment.

Previously, the police reported that it had coordinated investigations leading to charges against 74 suspects for ten different offences in various cases related to environmental monitoring data manipulation.

These individuals include officials and leaders in state environmental management agencies, as well as representatives of 59 enterprises involved in discharging waste and installing monitoring equipment nationwide.

Inspections of more than 300 environmental monitoring stations belonging to emission sources found that nearly 160 stations had been tampered with or had their data altered.

When pollution indicators exceeded permitted thresholds and triggered red alerts, factories would be forced to suspend operations.

As a result, some enterprises allegedly manipulated data to keep readings within allowable limits. — VNS