Inspector suspended in gas terminal embezzlement probe

A high-ranking inspector of the government has been suspended from his post following misconduct in the country?s oil and gas industry. In 2002, Luong Cao Khai, deputy head of the Department of Economic Inspection under the country?s State Inspectorate, led an investigation on construction work of a costly gas terminal owned by the state-run oil and gas giant PetroVietnam.
State inspectors uncovered serious corruption leading to the poor quality of the US$151 million pipeline, port, and storage system for transporting natural gas from an offshore field near the country?s southern coast.
Over US$41.3 million was misspent and embezzled by PetroVietnam officials in charge of managing the construction, according to the probe.
However, despite the serious results, Inspector Khai only proposed minor penalties on PetroVietnam officials, and on January 8, 2003, agreed to allow the company itself to handle the disciplinary work.
The corrupt officials then escaped penalty until police launched an investigation into the scandal and arrested them in 2004 and 2005.
The head of the State Inspectorate, Quach Le Thanh, on Tuesday confirmed information over Khai?s wrongdoings, saying the government was carefully inspecting the case.

 

Category: Legal