Vietnamese police on Friday arrested the leader of a business group and the director of a provincial health department for their violations related to equipment procurement bidding packages for a hospital project, leading to damage of over US$6.6 million.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, 53, chairwoman and general director of Hanoi-based Advanced International Joint Stock Company (AIC Group) and Phan Huy Anh Vu, 55, director of the Dong Nai Province Department of Health, have been indicted on charges of “violating bidding regulations, causing serious consequences,” under the Vietnamese Penal Code, Lieutenant General To An Xo, chief of staff and spokesman of the Ministry of Public Security, said the same day. 

When committing the offense, Vu was director of the Dong Nai General Hospital, which was put into operation in April 2015 after several years of construction, according to the ministry’s Investigation Police Agency.

Hoang Thi Thuy Nga, former deputy general director of AIC Group, and three employees of this group have also been arrested and indicted for the same offense.

In addition, Vo Quang Ngoc, deputy director of Mediconsult Vietnam Joint Venture Company Ltd., and Nguyen Cong Tien, general director of New Generation Valuation and Investment Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company (NVC JSC), and Ninh Van Sinh, a price appraiser of NVC JSC, have also been prosecuted for the same charge.

Along with the arrest orders and prosecution decisions served on the defendants, the search warrants were also executed at their offices and residences on the same day.

All the defendants have been found committing law-breaking acts related to 12 bidding packages for medical equipment procurement for the project to build Dong Nai General Hospital in the 2013 - 15 period, investigators said.

Specifically, Vu and Nhan had colluded with Tien and Sinh to hike medical equipment prices included in 11 out of the 12 packages and joined hands with other defendants in committing various violations of the Bidding Law to facilitate the AIC Group to win these 12 packages at VND476.87 billion (nearly $20.8 million), the investigation police agency reported. 

The defendants’ illegal acts have caused a total damage of VND152 billion (some $6.62 million) to the State budget.

Further investigations into the case are underway, the agency said.

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