Five officials of the Yên Khánh Company were detained for further investigation into alleged illegal activity of using software to hide fee collection and evade tax at HCM City-Trung Lương Expressway’s toll booth. — Photo baogiaothong.vn

HCM CITY — Five officials of the Yên Khánh Company were detained for further investigation into alleged illegal activity of using software to hide fee collection and evade tax at HCM City-Trung Lương Expressway’s toll booth, the Ministry of Public Security said yesterday.

They are Ngô Bá Thắng, director of the company’s office in the Mekong Delta province of Long An; Trần Văn Miền, Long An office deputy director and head of Chợ Đệm toll booth; Tô Phước Hùng, chief accountant of Yên Khánh Company; Nguyễn Thị Kim Huệ, accountant; Nguyễn Văn Hiền, director of Xuân Phi Company.

Police seized paperwork and software revealing evidence of tax evasion, causing losses to State budget.

Investigation Police Department on Economic, Corruption-related Crimes and Smuggling is expanding the investigation.

In a related move, according to Directorate for Roads of Việt Nam (DRVN), the Yên Khánh Company stopped collecting fees on the expressway from yesterday.

The company had to transfer the road management to the DRVN because the five-year period of fee collection as mentioned in the contract which started from January 01, 2014 was over.

Phạm Duy Lai, deputy director of DRVN’s Road Management Department No.4 (in the south) said they would mobilise staff to ensure traffic order and prohibit motorbikes from entering the highway lanes.

According to the DRVN, the agency will repair and upgrade the toll booth before making the final decision of handing over the toll fee collection right to another company.

The HCM City-Trung Luong Expressway, covering a length of nearly 62km, has total investment of almost VNĐ10 trillion (US$425.5 million). It was open to traffic in 2010 and the first expressway in the south. — VNS