Many types of materials and electrical equipment used in a scandal involving Power Company Binh Thuan, a subsidiary of state utility Vietnam Electricity (EVN), and Tuan An Group had their prices inflated by up to 300%.
"The case that occurred at Power Company Binh Thuan (EVN Binh Thuan) and Tuan An Group is a typical example of investors colluding with contractors to inflate prices," Lieutenant General To An Xo, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security, said at a regular government meeting on Thursday.
"Most materials and electrical equipment had their prices inflated by dozens or hundreds of percent, even up to 300% in one case," he added.
Xo said this is one of the reasons for rising electricity prices, affecting consumers because the increase in the cost of materials has been handed on to the cost of electricity.
At the end of December 2023, the director of Power Company Binh Thuan, the chairman of Tuan An Group, and 15 others were arrested for allegedly accepting bribes and violating bidding regulations for the supply of materials, equipment and accessories for the electricity industry, as well as accounting rules in business management.
Regarding the gasoline case that occurred at Hai Ha Petro and Xuyen Viet Oil, Lieutenant General Xo said investigations showed that Hai Ha Petro had caused a loss of about VND300 billion ($12.29 billion) to the state budget.
At Xuyen Viet Oil, the investigative agency has frozen 17 personal accounts worth over VND4 billion ($163,900) and has temporarily suspended transfer transactions related to 54 real estate properties registered under individual names and six others under the company's name.