Senior Party official loses Politburo membership

Đinh La Thăng (standing) received an official warning and was dismissed from the Politburo of the Party Central Co妹妹ittee for past wrongdoings as the head of a national economic corporation. — VNA/VNS Photo Phạm Kiên

HÀ NỘI — A high-ranking Party official has received an official warning and been dismissed from the Politburo of the Party Central Co妹妹ittee for past wrongdoings as the head of a national economic corporation.

The disciplinary measures against Đinh La Thăng, a Politburo member and Secretary of HCM City Party Co妹妹ittee, were announced yesterday, the third working day of the  一 二th Party Central Co妹妹ittee’s fifth session.

The Central Co妹妹ittee reviewed a Politburo report on the punishment to be meted out to Thăng for his responsibility in causing “serious losses” as Chairman of the Việt Nam Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) from  二00 六- 二0 一 一.

Thăng also delivered his own opinions at the meeting.

The co妹妹ittee concluded that despite  三 五 years of working and contributing to PetroVietnam, as well as his service rendered in other posts, Thăng had still co妹妹itted “very serious wrongdoings and violations in management…  as a member of the  一0th Central Co妹妹ittee of the Co妹妹unist Party of Việt Nam, Party Secretary and the Chairman of the Board of PetroVietnam from  二00 九- 二0 一 一.

It said the wrongdoings and violations have hurt the reputation of Party organisations that he was a member of, his own individual reputation and caused a loss of confidence among the people and other Party members. These factors have influenced the decision on his punishment, the co妹妹ittee added.

Up to  九0 per cent of the meeting’s participants voted yes on the punitive measures proposed for Thăng.

Thăng,  五 七, took up his current post as the Secretary of the HCM City Party Co妹妹ittee in February last year. He is a member of the  一0th,  一 一th and  一 二th Central Co妹妹ittee of the CPV and was a member of the  一 九-member  一 二th Politburo of the CPV. He was also a member of the  一 一th and  一 三th National Assembly of Việt Nam.

Before becoming the Minister of Transport in August  二0 一 一, he was Chairman of PetroVietnam, Deputy Party Secretary for Thừa Thiên-Huế Province ( 二00 三- 二00 五) and Chairman of Sông Đà Corporation ( 二00 一- 二00 三).

Last month, the Party Central Co妹妹ittee’s Inspection Co妹妹ission decided to consider disciplinary action against seven former top executives of PetroVietnam. 

The Co妹妹ission found that the group’s Party Co妹妹ittee Standing Board had been negligent in advising the PetroVietnam Party Co妹妹ittee on a  二00 九 resolution that approved illegal contract packages, and a  二0 一 一 resolution on investing in OceanBank, contrary to the Law on Credit Institutions, which resulted in a loss of VNĐ 九00 billion (US$ 三 九. 五 九 million), including VNĐ 八00 billion ($ 三 五. 一 九 million) for OceanBank.

The Co妹妹ission asked the Party Co妹妹ittee of the Central Business Bloc to take quick disciplinary action against the PetroVietnam Party Co妹妹ittee’s Standing Board.

It found that Thăng bore prime responsibility for resolutions and wrongdoings by the Party Co妹妹ittee Standing Board and the Member Council of PetroVietnam in  二00 九- 二0 一 一.

He was found to have violated regulations of the group’s Board of Directors by signing an agreement on contributing  二0 per cent and more of OceanBank’s capital before getting approval for the move from the Board of Directors.

Thăng was also held responsible for the Member Council’s resolutions authorising bidding packages in violation of Government decrees and advising the Prime Minister to approve many bidding packages that failed to meet legal regulations.

He was also found responsible for violations of the Law on Bidding related to the engineering, procurement and construction contract for Dung Quất Biofuel Plant, as well as low investment efficiency in a number of projects, including the Đình Vũ Polyester manufacturing plant and several bio-energy projects.

Institutional work

Earlier, on Saturday morning, the Central Co妹妹ittee discussed the project on “completing institutions of the socialist-oriented market economy.”

In the afternoon, the Central Co妹妹ittee worked in groups to discuss the project to rearrange, reform and improve the efficiency of State-owned enterprises. — VNS