Vietnam police hunt former Vinalines chairman

This file photo shows ships being loaded and unloaded at Ho Chi Minh City's container port, in 2006. Vietnamese police have issued an arrest warrant for the former chairman of state-owned shipping firm Vinalines, official media said on Sunday, as the scandal rocking the debt-mired company deepens. (AFP Photo/Hoang Dinh Nam)

05/20/2012
AFP

Vietnamese police have issued an arrest warrant for the former chairman of state-owned shipping firm Vinalines, official media said, as the scandal rocking the debt-mired company deepens.

Duong Chi Dung, 55, was accused on Saturday of deliberately mismanaging the company during his tenure -- between 2005 and February this year -- with "severe consequences", the Tuoi Tre newspaper reported.

On Friday police tried to arrest Dung at his house and office but discovered he had fled, the daily added, contradicting earlier reports that he had been arrested.

Vinalines, the largest state-owned shipping and port operator in Vietnam, has defaulted on loans worth more than $1.1 billion, according to the government and is dogged by allegations of fraud and mismanagement.

Last week police arrested two other former top Vinalines officials Mai Van Phuc, 54, and Tran Huu Chieu, 60, according to Tuoi Tre.

The trio -- including Dung -- are accused of causing huge losses after buying more than 70 dilapidated foreign ships and racking up massive repair and maintenance bills.

Four other Vinalines officials are already being held over the scandal, the Tuoi Tre newspaper added, quoting police sources.

The investigation follows the sentencing in March of nine former top executives at scandal-tainted shipbuilder Vinashin, who were handed lengthy jail terms for intentionally violating state regulations.

The woes of Vinashin -- which almost collapsed in 2010 under billions of dollars of debt -- sparked investor fears of wider problems at state-owned firms, a key pillar of Vietnam's economy.

Some of the loss-making sea transport projects at Vinashin were transferred to Vinalines, though experts have warned the shipping company is ill-prepared to manage them.

State-owned groups, many of which are widely regarded as badly managed, control two-thirds of capital and assets in Vietnam and enjoy cosy relations with officials.