$3.2 million Covid medical scam was charged against HCMC businessman.
A company director in Ho Chi Minh City has been accused of appropriating US$3.2 million from three foreign partners by selling non-existent medical gloves during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
09:37 06/07/2023
Bui Quang Hai, director of HBC International Trading, faces up to life in prison for the violation.
City prosecutors said Wednesday Hai took advantage of the global medical equipment scarcity during the pandemic in mid-2020.
He signed a contract worth $6.35 million to provide medical gloves to Hong Kong company PDP.
The company transferred more than $1.9 million as a deposit and $210,000 as a contract fee before the contract was canceled. But HBC never returned the money.
In November 2020, Hai signed similar contracts for medical gloves and received $512,000 in payment from a Japanese company, as well as $607,000 from an American company.
Hai’s company then never produced, procured or delivered the gloves as promised.
During investigations, Hai said he was only director on paper, and that a man named Do Trung Duong gave all the orders.
An investigation into Duong’s role in the crime is ongoing.
Vietnam continues to receive ODA loans from Japan, up to $422M
The Japan International Cooperation Agency has signed an official development assistance agreement with the Vietnamese government to provide a loan of 60.98 billion yen (US$422 million) for three projects.
