The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) has tightened control over overseas trips by leaders of its groups and corporations, particularly those from Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam).

The move was made following complaints that many leaders of the ministry’s groups and corporations take advantage of their overseas trips.

The Ministry of Public Security has issued an international wanted notice for Trinh Xuan Thanh, the former chairman of PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC)

More than 100 leaders have been blacklisted, a source from the MoIT told Dantri/Dtinews Newspaper.

MoIT regulations insist any leader has to clearly inform the ministry about their absence from work due to private reasons, including being sick.

MoIT has urged PetroVietnam to closely supervise the overseas trips of a number of the group’s leaders from PetroVietnam Construction Joint Stock Corporation (PVC), Petrovietnam Petrochemical and Textile Fiber JSC (PVTex) and PV Power.

Most recently, PV Power, an affiliate of PetroVietnam, issued a press release to announce that the firm’s Deputy General Director Le Chung Dung had failed return to work after a period away. PV Power had rejected Dung’s proposal to join a six-month training course in Singapore and requested him to return to work, but Dung has not yet returned to the company since October 21 this year.

Dung is said to have been involved in implementing ethanol fuel projects which had led to big losses.

Earlier, Vu Dinh Duy, General Director of PVTex, was also suspected to have taken advantage of sick leave and might have fled abroad. PVTex is facing investigations into its affiliate Dinh Vu polyester plant in Haiphong City.

The Ministry of Public Security has issued an international wanted notice for Trinh Xuan Thanh, the former chairman of PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC). Thanh is accused of economic management violations, leading to losses of VND3.2 trillion (USD142 million) for PVC between 2011 and 2013 when he was PVC chairman.

Thanh fled abroad in July this year.