News » Vietnam
Former chairman of Vinalines arrested
  • | Tuoi Tre | May 19, 2012 09:05 AM
The incumbent chief of the Vietnam Maritime Administration Duong Chi Dung, who is former chairman of the state-owned shipping company Vinalines, and two other high-ranking officials were arrested and prosecuted Friday in Hanoi.
 
 Duong Chi Dung
According to the arrest warrant of the central investigation police, the three officials are charged of ‘intentionally violating State regulations on economic management that causes severe consequences’.

The two officials include Mai Van Phuc, 54, who is deputy chief of Transport Administration under the Ministry of Transport and former general director of Vinalines; and Tran Huu Chieu, 60, who is former deputy general director of the shipping firm.


Police also searched their offices on Friday.


Dung and Phuc will be detained for four months for police investigation, transport deputy minister Truong Tan Vien said, citing the information from the police.


Vinalines, the largest state-owned shipping and port operator in Vietnam, now suffers from five defaulted loans worth more than VND23.06 trillion (US$1.1 billion).


It was also found to have purchased 73 foreign vessels, most of which are secondhand, at VND23 trillion. Of these, 17 vessels have been used from 15 to 30 years, incurring a huge expense for repairing and maintaining the ships due to their deteriorated conditions. Many of the vessels are too old to be registered for operating in Vietnam.

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