HCMC – Investigators at the Ministry of Public Security have proposed pressing charges against 17 officials of the HCMC Tax Department for a lack of responsibility and supervision.

Investigators earlier issued a conclusion on an expanded probe into , the tax department and other relevant agencies.

According to the results of the investigation, these executives and officials of the Tax Department showed dereliction of duty and violated regulations on tax management to cause serious consequences and heavy losses to the State budget.

Between February 2018 to June 2019, Trinh Tien Dung, who was allegedly the mastermind of an appropriation case, and later fled, worked with many executives of Thuduc House to sign multiple business deals with eight foreign firms. They illegally exported electronic parts, worth US$158 million, or VND3.6 trillion, to the United States, Cambodia, UAE and Singapore, among others, with a value-added tax of 0%.

However, Dung directed Thuduc House to forge documents to claim VAT refunds. He then sent these falsified documents to the HCMC Tax Department to appropriate over VND365 billion.

Related to the probe, 43 other individuals also face charges. Investigators accused them of multiple charges, including smuggling, illegal transport of money and goods, asset appropriation, bribery, fake goods trading and production, breaches of regulations on accounting and dereliction of duty.