VietNamNet Bridge - After working with representatives from JICA and the Embassy of Japan, Deputy Minister of Transport – Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Dong is going to Japan today to clarify claims that an executive of the Japan Transportation Consultants, Inc. (JTC) bribed Vietnamese transport officials with 80 million Japanese yen ($800,000) in return for an ODA project.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Ngoc Dong.

Mr. Dong and Deputy Director of the International Cooperation Department – Mr. Pham Thanh Tung is going to Japan this evening to meet with the Japanese authorities.

Dong is scheduled to work with the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau, Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office, and the Yomiuri Shimbun daily to verify the allegations.

Minister Dinh La Thang said that the Ministry expects to have the list of the Vietnamese officials who took bribes from the Japanese contractor from this trip.

He stressed the need to promptly bring the case to light and duly punish those involved in the bribery scheme. 

At the meeting between the Ministry of Transport with representatives of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japanese Embassy yesterday, a JICA representative said that the doubtful bribery case was only known via the media of the two countries. JICA will hold up investigation to clarify the information and cooperate with the Ministry of Transport to quickly verify the case.

Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Transport, Mr. Nguyen Van Huyen, said that the Ministry should set up an investigation group which will work independently from the Ministry’s inspection team. This group will include police officers.

To check the entire rail projects, the Ministry of Transport has halted disbursement of the project of JTC and canceled signing the contract for the new bidding package with this Japanese consultant.

Mr. Nguyen Dat Tuong - General Director of the Vietnam Railway Corporation said that today, the corporation’s four officials who have been suspended for 10-15 days have to submit their reports on the projects they involved

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc yesterday told the Ministry of Public Security to coordinate with the Supreme People's Procuracy, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to actively clarify the case.

The Japan Transportation Consultants, Inc. (JTC) is said to have offered JPY80 million in kickbacks to several Vietnamese transport officials in return for award of the Hanoi urban metro route No1 project.

The Yomiuri Shimbun daily reported last week that JTC president Tamio Kakinuma approached the Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office and admitted JTC kickbacks had been paid to civil servants in Vietnam, Indonesia and Uzbekistan in return for ODA projects.

Four rail officials in Vietnam have been suspended pending completion of a thorough investigation into the matter.

Tran Cham