A number of petroleum companies such as Xuyen Viet Oil, Hai Ha Petro and Thien Minh Duc have been found committing serious violations, resulting in substantial losses to the state budget.

XuyenViet Oil was found misappropriating and illegally using the Price Stabilization Fund (BOG) and environmental protection tax funds. 

Its president Mai Thi Hong Hanh, exploiting the company's role in collecting, managing and using money from the BOG fund, told Nguyen Thi Nhu Phuong (vice director of Xuyen Viet Oil) not to transfer VND219 billion of the fund into Xuyen Viet Oil’s account, but instead into her personal accounts for withdrawal and personal use. 

At the same time, Mai Thi Hong Hanh did not remit VND1,244 billion in environmental protection tax she was tasked to collect. These actions by Hanh and Phuong constituted elements of the crime of "violating regulations on the management and use of state assets, causing waste and loss".

Hanh and her accomplices also gave a bribe of over VND31 billion to eight individuals, including six former officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), to obtain a petroleum import-export business license despite not meeting the required conditions.

Similarly, Hai Ha Petro, a key petroleum business in Thai Binh, was found misusing the BOG fund and owing environmental protection tax amounting to thousands of billions of VND. The company did not transfer the allocated BOG fund money to the designated account as required but kept it in its payment account.

Investigations revealed that from 2017 to January 12, 2024, Hai Ha Petro was required to allocate nearly VND613 billion to the BOG fund. However, taking advantage of its management role, Tran Tuyet Mai, chair of Hai Ha Petro’s board, instructed the chief accountant Le Thi Hue to pay only VND295 billion, thus still owing VND317 billion. 

With this amount of money, Mai ordered the withdrawal of VND266.3 billion from the BOG fund and transferred it to another company to execute a goods purchase contract.

Thien Minh Duc Corporation, a major petroleum business in Nghe An, was also found to have committed multiple violations. The police investigation agency issued a decision to prosecute a criminal case for "embezzlement of assets; illegal printing, issuance, and trading of invoices and documents on state budget collection" that occurred at Thien Minh Duc and associated entities.

The repeated violations by these enterprises that caused significant losses shows persistent shortcomings and problems in petroleum businesses’ capability. 

Meanwhile, regulations on managing, allocating, and spending the petroleum price stabilization fund have exposed clear deficiencies. 

In dozens of recent petroleum price adjustment periods, the BOG fund has not been utilized because price fluctuations were not strong enough to trigger its use under current regulations. The need to revise the fund’s management mechanism has become urgent.

Plugging "loopholes" and ensuring market transparency

Nguyen Tien Thoa, former director of the Price Management Department and chair of the Vietnam Valuation Association, stated that addressing violating enterprises is necessary and at the same time, it is critical to thoroughly address management loopholes to prevent such violations from recurring.

He emphasized that if these loopholes persist, even with penalties and deterrence, the measures would only be patchwork. The key is to establish a strict management mechanism that leaves no room for violators to repeat their actions. 

This would not only enhance state management effectiveness but also help build a transparent and open petroleum business environment while maintaining discipline.

To address these "loopholes" and ensure transparency in operations, contributing to national energy security, nearly a year ago, the Ministry of Industry and Trade drafted a new decree on petroleum business to replace Government Decree No 83/2014/ND-CP dated September 3, 2014, and its subsequent amendments.

The decree was created on the principle of market-based operations with state management, aiming to balance the interests of consumers, petroleum-using businesses and petroleum traders, while reducing intermediaries in the supply chain. 

Petrolimex deputy general director Tran Ngoc Nam commented that the draft decree inherits the strengths of the current decree while amending, supplementing, and replacing provisions to suit current realities and petroleum business management needs.

"The draft decree introduces many positive changes, addressing shortcomings in petroleum management and business," Nam said, pointing to new regulations on connecting petroleum business data with functional agencies. 

Through data connectivity, all figures in the petroleum supply chain will be transparent, enabling authorities to make the most reasonable operational decisions.

Tam An