Trần Trung Chí Hiếu. — VNA/VNS Photo Doãn Tấn/

HÀ NỘI — A former chairman of State-owned PVTEX was sentenced to 28 years in prison for corruption and deliberate wrongdoings, a Hà Nội court ruled on Friday.

The four-day trial found Trần Trung Chí Hiếu and Vũ Đình Duy, former director general of the PetroVietnam Petrochemical and Textile Fiber Company who is currently on the run, guilty of picking a subpar contractor for a housing project for PVTEX’s employees.

The contractor was also a State-owned company – the Kinh Bắc Petroleum Construction and Investment (PVC.KBC).

After receiving an illegal advanced payment of VNĐ20 billion (US$888,800) from PVTEX to carry out the project, PVC.KBC’s former chairman and director general Đỗ Văn Hồng misappropriated the money for personal affairs, stalling the project and subsequently causing losses of more than VNĐ19.4 billion to the State.

While the advanced payment was ordered by Hiếu and Duy, PVTEX Commerce and Contract Division former head Đào Ngọ Hoàng and the company’s former chief accountant Vũ Phương Nam were also found responsible for the decision.

‘Grease the wheels’

The court also looked into the charge of bribery involving Duy, Hiếu and Hồng when the latter set up a new company named Kinh Bắc PVTEX to manufacture special paper cores for PVTEX.

Kinh Bắc PVTEX had charter capital of VNĐ30 billion at the time, of which Duy and Hiếu each invested 10 per cent, or VNĐ3 billion. However, it was on paper only.

In fact, Hồng paid the whole VNĐ6 billion for the couple under demands of Duy to “grease the wheels”, he said in court.

Hiếu was sentenced to 15 years behind bars for bribery and another 13 years for deliberate wrongdoings in the housing project. The sentence totaled 28 years.

The court handed Hồng a 13-year sentence and also forced him to repay the advanced payment amount to PVTEX.

Hoàng and Nam face nine and eight years in prison respectively, both for deliberate violations causing severe consequences. — VNS