Tran Hoai An (C)

Police in Hanoi on Wednesday detained a former project manager involved in the construction of the north-south Ho Chi Minh Road to investigate allegations he had stolen VND10 billion from the work.

From 2001 to 2005, An allegedly made fake contracts and invoices to the tune of VND9.5 billion (US$530,000). He has reportedly told the police that he does not have the ability to return the money now.

The wrongdoings were committed when An was directing construction of parts of the Ho Chi Minh Road in the central Quang Binh Province, police said. The work was then being done by the Construction Technology Development Joint Stock Co.

Ho Chi Minh Road, also called Ho Chi Minh Highway, runs to the west of National Road 1A. The route roughly coincides with the Ho Chi Minh Trail built during the Vietnam War. It is planned as an 8-lane highway running 3,167 kilometers from Cao Bang Province at the border in the north to southernmost Ca Mau Province.

Under a special mission to track down embezzlement at construction projects, the city police are also investigating An’s “abuse of power” in allegedly pocketing VND5 billion from the construction of the Phuong Dong (Oriental) Hotel in the central Nghe An Province, carried out by a state-owned leading construction firm LICOGI 12.

Source: Thanh Nien