Signs of embezzlement and other corruption have been found during investigations into the huge losses suffered by state-owned shipbuilder Vinashin, the Government Inspectorate has said.

 

Nine “specific problems” have been transferred to police for investigations, Tran Van Truyen, chief of the inspectorate told the press on the sidelines of an anti-corruption conference related to minerals mining held in cooperation with the Swedish Embassy in Hanoi Wednesday.

 

Police had arrested eight of Vinashin’s former officials to investigate charges of mismanagement after the shipbuilder was found to have racked up debts totaling VND86 trillion (US$4.4 billion) in June 2010. Pham Thanh Binh, the company’s former chairman and chief executive officer, is among the detainees.

 

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung and his subordinates were also held responsible for mismanagement, but the Party Politburo deemed their offences did not warrant punishment.

 

Since the scandal was exposed last year, Vinashin has undergone restructuring plans and made "initial progress," Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hung told  the National Assembly in March.