American company fraud scandal continues

Le Van Tan, employed to work in a Lochsa Vietnam project, recently told newswire baodauthau.vn that he is ready to work with the investigation agency to back up his accusations.

Tan had earlier sent a letter to a series of newspapers, accusing Lochsa Vietnam of fraud in a dyke project in North Ninh Co-Nam Dinh. According to Tan, Lochsa Vietnam refused to pay the promised amount to workers, did not comply with the project design, used the wrong types of materials, and wrongly pocketed tens of billion VND in the process.

Tan said, since April 25 he had been sending letters to government agencies, including the Ministry of Transport, the ministry’s inspectorate, and the Project Management Unit of Waterways, regarding Lochsa Vietnam’s fraud.

He pointed out that tens of thousands of cubic metres of stone that are of the wrong kind, of lower quality, and installed in the wrong way, as well as 6,000 cubic metres of concrete that do not meet the project requirements. “I am ready to give proof to the investigation agency. Everyone can see it with their own eyes and everyone can understand,” he said in his letter to baodauthau.vn.

The evidence he gave to support the accusation of refusing to pay workers is a contract between the company and the workers, and documents confirming the finished work certified by the company’s managing director.

Earlier, after many newspapers posted articles about the accusations, Lochsa Vietnam refuted them, saying it did pay the workers. Tan, in turn, said the amount paid is not correct. Tan said he had asked three times to meet with the company representatives to clarify the amount, but has been consistently refused.

Tan said Lochsa replaced 700-800 kg rocks with smaller ones, going against the project design but charging accordingly. To this, Lochsa Vietnam admitted there was difference from the design but “it was necessary.”

Both Lochsa and Tan have sent documents to many government agencies, saying that they would take legal responsibility for all their actions and will cover all expenses of the investigation if their side is wrong.

The VND100 billion ($4.5 million) North Ninh Co-Nam Dinh dyke project is part of the Lach Giang river mouth project, which is in turn part of package 9, phase II of the project to develop transportation in the Northern Delta Area. This project is funded by the World Bank (WB), and is to be carried out in 14 cities and provinces, including Nam Dinh, with a total capital of $201.5 million, 85.11 per cent of which is borrowed from the WB, the rest being a counterpart fund provided by the Vietnamese government.

The Lach Giang river mouth project aims to increase waterway connection between the region and the whole country, allowing boats of up to 1,000 tonnes to enter Red River ports, and boats of 2,000-3,000 tonnes to anchor at ports on Ninh Co River and Ninh Phuc port.