Defendants at the court in Bắc Ninh Province on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — The People’s Court of Bắc Ninh Province has handed down verdicts in a major bribery case involving education officials and preschool leaders in Bắc Ninh Province and Hà Nội.

The court found that between 2013 and 2024, 34 defendants, including former district-level vice chairpersons, officials from Departments of Education and Training, and preschool principals, abused their positions in overseeing and signing food supply contracts. They repeatedly accepted money from Nguyễn Văn Huy, director of Bảo An Huy Trading and Services Co., Ltd., in exchange for allowing his company to secure contracts at above-market prices.

The total amount of bribes exceeded VNĐ13.2 billion (over US$500,000).

According to the trial panel, the defendants’ actions undermined the proper functioning of public institutions, damaged the reputation of the education sector and eroded parents’ trust. Although the defendants were aware their actions were illegal, they acted for personal gain or to maintain supply arrangements.

Huy was identified as the ringleader, having initiated the scheme and paid bribes calculated as a percentage of contract revenue to secure and sustain deals.

However, the court noted mitigating factors, including the defendants’ lack of prior convictions, cooperation during the investigation, expressions of remorse, and voluntary repayment of illicit gains.

Huy was sentenced to eight years in prison for offering bribes and fined VNĐ20 million.

Thirty-four other defendants, including former district-level officials, education administrators and preschool principals, were convicted of accepting bribes.

Among the heaviest sentences, Nguyễn Tiến Đức received seven years and six months, while Hoàng Việt Cường was sentenced to seven years in prison. Both were additionally fined VNĐ30 million.

Nguyễn Thị Nhự was given five years in prison. Vũ Thị Bắc and Nguyễn Thị Phú were each sentenced to 42 months, while Nguyễn Thị Thu Hà received 36 months.

Several others received suspended sentences, ranging from 24 months to 36 months across multiple groups of defendants.

Prosecutors said Huy approached education officials to secure favorable conditions for his company, offering them 1–3 per cent of monthly revenue. He also paid school principals commissions of 5–15 per cent of contract values to maintain long-term supply deals.

To finance the payments, Huy inflated food prices to as much as 1–1.5 times market rates. When some schools sought to terminate contracts due to high prices, he enlisted education officials to intervene and pressure them to continue.

The court determined that the illegal payments enabled Bảo An Huy to supply food to preschools across several districts in Bắc Ninh and Hà Nội over more than a decade. — VNS