2.7-million-liter substandard fuel ring identified as big case: MPS

The case has drawn much attention from the public since early February, when the Dong Nai police discovered the ring and cordoned off a series of petrol stations, said Major General To An Xo, office manager of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS).

Last month, the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption decided to direct and monitor such a major case following signs of poor management and aiding and abetting of violators by the competent agencies during the investigation period, Major General Xo said.

The spokesman of the MPS also said that in early March, the ministry had launched criminal proceedings in the case involving the smuggling, producing and trading of substandard fuel, while the Dong Nai police prosecuted 52 individuals involved in the ring.

Given the figures and statistics, the ring was being run on a large scale, with millions of liters of substandard fuel, trillions of Vietnamese dong and numerous falsified accounts discovered and seized or blocked.

The ring might have been taking place in many parts of the country for a long time, so several State agencies could participate in the ring as an act of protection racket.

In the major case, graft and accepting bribes were done sophisticatedly as offenders and leaders of the protection racket worked with each other secretly through intermediate organizations, the local media reported.

On February 17, the Dong Nai police filed charges against Ngo Van Thuy, head of a team of the southern anti-smuggling under the General Department of Vietnam Customs, for taking bribes. He was one of the officials from State agencies who joined the protection racket for the substandard fuel ring, Xo said.

The MPS will continue to expand the investigation into the ring, he added.