Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has arrested a former executive of Vinashin Ocean Shipping who has been on the run for five years to avoid a probe into alleged corruption, according to local media.
The 38-year-old Giang Kim Dat, former sales manager at Vinashin, will now face charges for a number of violations that reportedly cost the state-owned company USD 41 million.
Following the arrest, Dat reportedly confessed to pocketing nearly USD 19 million through the purchase of a used, Italian-made ship in 2007. The ship was paid USD 67.5 million, with further USD 300,000 spent on repairs.
39 trips later, the ship was pulled from the service due to incurring losses. The transaction set the company back USD 22.5 million, the investigators said.
Vietnam’s police launched the investigation into Dat’s alleged illegal activities in August 2013.
If convicted, Dat will be the tenth Vinashin executive to be sent to prison. The nine other executives received prison sentences ranging from three to twenty years back in 2012.
Ho Ngoc Tung, former director of Vinashin Financial Co, is still at large.
The authorities started the investigations after Vinashin accumulated USD 4.5 billion in debts in 2010.
The company filed for bankruptcy and was restructured into the Shipbuilding Industry Corporation in 2013.
Vinashin Ocean Shipping was transferred to Vinalines.
World Maritime News Staff
-Source: worldmaritimenews.com