Vietnam jails former minister over solar energy pricing scheme
Vietnam is trying to increase wind and solar production to meet soaring demand. PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: UNSPLASH
Hanoi - A court in Vietnam jailed a former deputy minister of industry and trade for six years on April 29 after finding him guilty of 'power abuse' in a solar energy development plan.
The South-east Asian country has committed to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 and is trying to increase wind and solar production to meet soaring demand.
Hoang Quoc Vuong, 62, admitted taking a US$57,600 (S$75,000) bribe to favour solar power plants in southern Ninh Thuan province with special pricing when they sold power to the national electricity company.
Vuong was deputy minister of trade and industry between 2015 and 2020 and chaired state-owned Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) between 2012 and 2015.
According to the verdict, EVN spent almost US$154 million to buy solar power from three solar power plants in Ninh Thuan province between 2018 and 2020, causing a loss of more than US$40 million to the state budget.
Vuong admitted to the court that he received a bribe but his family had paid the amount back.
'I think during my public work performance, I had done things wrong, causing losses. So I take responsibility in paying the amount back to the state,' he told the court.
Vuong said in his final words before the court that his 'wrongdoings were painful lessons, erasing my contributions (to the state) in various positions'.
Eleven other energy and tax officials involved in the case were also put on trial. They were given punishments that ranged from suspended sentences of three years to six years in jail for abuse of power and lack of responsibilities.
The court in Hanoi also ordered three power plants that benefited from the power sales to EVN to pay the US$40 million of losses back to the state-owned group. AFP
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
17 minutes ago
- Straits Times
US immigration officials told to largely pause raids on farms, hotels, NYT reports
FILE PHOTO: Orange traffic cones with the word \"ICE\" are seen at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in Miramar, near Miami, Florida, U.S. July 14, 2019. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has told immigration officials to largely pause raids and arrests in the agricultural industry, hotels and restaurants, the New York Times reported on Friday. The report cited an internal email and three U.S. officials with knowledge of the guidance. "Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' Tatum King, a senior official at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said in guidance to regional leaders of the department, the Times added. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the guidance to the Times and said: 'We will follow the president's direction and continue to work to get the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens off of America's streets,' Reuters could not immediately confirm the report. The White House and U.S. department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of regular business hours. The report comes after Trump said on Thursday he would issue an order soon to address the effects of his immigration crackdown on the country's farm and hotel industries, which rely heavily on migrant labor. U.S. farm industry groups have long wanted Trump to spare their sector from mass deportations, which could upend a food supply chain dependent on immigrants. Trump is carrying out his campaign promise to deport immigrants in the country illegally. But protesters and some Trump supporters have questioned the targeting of those who are not convicted criminals, including in places of employment such as those that sparked last week's protests in Los Angeles. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
AsiaOne
25 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
US President Trump and Japan PM Ishiba discuss tariffs and Israel's attacks against Iran, World News
WASHINGTON - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and US President Donald Trump held a phone call on Friday (June 13) in which they discussed tariffs and Israel's attacks against Iran, the Japanese foreign ministry said. Why it's important Trump has sought to leverage his tariff threats to strike bilateral trade deals with many countries, including US ally Japan. Japan will remain steadfast in its request for a review of US tariffs and would not accept a partial agreement, Tokyo's chief tariff negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said on Friday. On the diplomatic front, the two leaders agreed remain in close communication on Israel's strikes against Iran that began late on Thursday US time and on Friday Middle East and Asia time. Japan has condemned Israel's strikes by calling them escalatory while the US has called those a form of "unilateral action" and said Washington was not involved. Key quotes "Prime Minister Ishiba reiterated Japan's views on the US tariff measures, taking into account the results of the Japan-US Consultations on the US Tariff Measures to date," the Japanese foreign ministry said. It added that the two leaders "concurred to accelerate the consultations between the ministers in charge in order to achieve a mutually beneficial agreement." A White House official confirmed from the US side the call had taken place on Friday. The Japanese foreign ministry added that the two leaders agreed on the importance of peace and stability in the Middle East. Context Trump and Ishiba are expected to meet in Canada on the sidelines of the Group of Seven meeting next week. [[nid:719080]]
AsiaOne
41 minutes ago
- AsiaOne
Iran says nuclear talks with US 'meaningless' after Israel attack, World News
CAIRO - Iran said on Friday (June 13) the dialogue with the US over Tehran's nuclear programme is "meaningless" after Israel's biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, accusing Washington of supporting the attack. "The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran's territory," the semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying. He said Israel "succeeded in influencing" the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington's permission. Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel's attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be "wise" to negotiate over its nuclear programme. The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes. Iran denies that its uranium enrichment programme is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons. US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord. [[nid:719066]]
