The Ministry of Transport suspended a number of civil servants related to Japan Transportation Consultants, Inc. bribery allegation on March 23.
The civil servants related to the case were asked to provide reports explaining their personal responsibilities for relevant projects. They must complete reports before March 31, said Minister of Transport Dinh La Thang.
The company admitted to giving bribes to foreign government workers in return for Official Development Assistance (ODA) projects in Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Vietnam from 2008 to 2012.
The ministry will urgently investigate the allegations and any individual found receiving bribes from the company will be strictly punished, said Thang
The Ministry of Transport will coordinate with Japanese Embassy and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Vietnam to receive and share information about the case.
Deputy Minister of Transport Nguyen Ngoc Dong will work with JICA representative in Vietnam on March 24.
Vietnam Railways and Railway Project Management Unit are instructed to suspend disbursement for the urban railway route No.1 project contracted with JTC. They are also ordered to temporarily suspend financial negotiations with JTC for the design contract for the project’s second phase.
The Transport Ministry Inspectorate will inspect all projects that JTC worked on in Vietnam. Railway projects will be the first to be inspected.
The Ministry reported the case to Prime Minister, the Central Committee of Internal Affairs, Government Inspectorate, Ministry of Public Security and Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On the same day, Tran Ngoc Thanh, chairman of the Vietnam Railways, said they have suspended Nguyen Van Hieu as director of the Railway Project Management Unit.
The company has also established an investigation team led by director general Nguyen Dat Tuong to investigate other ODA railway projects conducted by JTC.
