Vu Dinh Thuan, former head of the Government Ofice, stands in the dock

The Hanoi Prosecution Office has proposed jail terms of up to eight years for a former deputy minister and others for pocketing kickbacks from dubious contracts awarded as part of a failed e-government project.

The prosecution office said Thuan had played the main role in colluding with his subordinates to pocket money in state funds as part of a scam that saw the state treasury lose a total of VND4.6 billion (currently US$249,000).

Earlier in the trial, Thuan had rejected the accusations in the indictment, saying his violations were due to vague and insufficient laws. He also said damages relevant to his actions were negligible in comparison to his contributions to the project. In his defense, he said he had organized a contract to buy software for VND9.1 billion ($492,424) even though the government had earmarked VND10.5 billion ($568,181) for the purpose.

According to the indictment, Thuan had violated bidding regulations when he made large purchases for the project at inflated prices, causing losses to the government budget. He and the others accused are alleged to have received kickbacks from several IT companies like ISA, Toan Cau, and Nhat Vinh for awarding them contracts under the project.

Thuan’s subordinate, Luong Cao Son, could also see 7-8 years because he had actively enticed others to commit crimes through which he had pocketed VND700 million ($37,940) in state funds.

A sentence of 5-6 years was proposed for Nguyen Cat Ho, former head of Project 112’s Training Section, and a 2-3 year sentence was sought for Hoang Dang Bao, former official of the Ministry of Home Affairs’ Administrative Reform Department, on the same charges.

Prosecutors said Nguyen Thi Ha, former director of ISA Informatics Technology Company, should spend 5-6 years behind bars on the charge that she exerted undue influence on government officials for “illegal benefits.” The prosecution office said Ha had asked Project 112’s management board to pay illegal commissions to obtain contracts illegally, causing losses of VND1 billion to the state budget and allowing her to swipe VND3.3 billion in government money. Ha was also unrepentant at the trial, the agency said.

Nguyen Duc Giao, former director of the Judicial Publishing House, and seven other defendants could see jail terms of between 36-42 months, while ten others might face probation.

The trial is scheduled to conclude on January 25.

Reported by Thai Son