Chien and Quynh face charges of accepting bribes, along with Nguyen Hanh Chung, former Vice Chairman of the Bac Ninh People's Council, and Tran Van Tuynh, former director of the provincial management board of medical construction projects.

Nguyen Tien Nhuong, former Vice Chairman of the provincial People's Committee, is charged with abuse of power while performing official duties. Seven other individuals are indicted for serious violations of bidding regulations.

Nguyen Thi Thanh Nhan, Chairwoman and General Director of the Advanced International Joint Stock Company (AIC), is charged with "bribery" but is currently a fugitive and is being tried in absentia for related bidding violations with a cumulative sentence of 30 years.

According to the indictment, Chien served as Chairman of the Bac Ninh People's Committee from 2011 to 2015 and Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee from 2015 to 2020. In mid-2013, before the execution of six medical equipment procurement packages in the northen province, Chung, Tuynh, and CEO of Song Hong JSC La Tuan Hung approached Chien to request additional government bond funding for ongoing projects, including six at district-level general hospitals. At the same time, Nhan also made similar contact.

The Bac Ninh officials agreed that Song Hong would handle three packages at hospitals in Yen Phong, Tien Du, and Que Vo districts, while AIC would manage three in Gia Binh, Thuan Thanh, and Luong Tai districts.

The investigation concluded that the defendants violated bidding regulations, leading to a total loss of 48 billion VND (1.96 million USD) to the state budget. Leaders of Song Hong bribed Tuynh with 6 billion VND, of which Tuynh distributed 1 billion VND each to Chien and Quynh, and gave Nhuong gifts totaling 300 million VND.

Nhan also bribed the aforementioned leaders, with Chien receiving gifts totaling 13 billion VND from 2014 until his retirement in 2020. Similarly, Quynh received 8.1 billion VND in bribes from Nhan and Song Hong JSC during his tenure as Vice Chairman and then Chairman of the provincial People's Committee.

Both Chien and Quynh have returned all the money they received to mitigate the damages. Nhan and Nguyen Hong Son, former deputy CEO of AIC, are currently fugitives and are being actively sought by the Ministry of Public Security./.VNA