Procuracy sees no evidence to reduce penalty for Dinh La Thang

Dinh La Thang and 13 other defendants at the appeal court

According to the proposal of the procuracy, Dinh La Thang produced no clear evidence to justify reducing his sentence. Thus, the procuracy proposed upholding the penalty of 13 years of imprisonment from the first verdict on the charge of “deliberately acting against the state’s regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences” (Article 165 of the Penal Code 1999).

On the other hand, the procuracy proposed reducing the penalties of Phung Dinh Thuc and Nguyen Quoc Khanh, two former leaders of PetroVietnam.

The other defendants, including Vu Duc Thuan, Nguyen Anh Minh, Bui Manh Hien, Le Dinh Mau, and Nguyen Manh Tien, were also proposed penalty relief on the charge of embezzlement after they showed sincere repentance.

The procuracy proposed upholding the first instance verdict for the six remaining defendants.

This morning, the procuracy confirmed that they have collected enough evidence to conclude that Dinh La Thang played an important role in appointing PetroVietnam Construction JSC (PVC) to an EPC contract without bidding, spent over $6 million and VND1 trillion ($44 million) in advance, facilitating Trinh Xuan Thanh and others to appropriate VND119 billion ($5.24 million).

Today, the representative of PetroVietnam—the first plaintiff—said that the group sent a document to the trial panel and the Supreme People’s Court to ask for reviewing the achievements and contributions of some defendants who were former leaders of PetroVietnam. The document requested reducing the penalty of Phung Dinh Thuc, Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Ninh Van Quynh, and Le Dinh Mau.

The representative said that Dinh La Thang, while in office, made numerous contributions to PetroVietnam. However, the group did not request leniency on his part.

PVC—the second plaintiff—also proposed decreasing the penalties of some were former leaders, including Vu Duc Thuan, Nguyen Anh Minh, Luong Van Hoa, and Bui Duc Hien.