HCMC – The spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) said today that Ngo Thi To Nhien, director of Vietnam Initiative for Energy Transition  Social Entreprise (VIETSE), had been detained for alleged expropriation of confidential documents from State utility Vietnam Electricity Group (EVN).

Speaking at a Government press conference this afternoon, Lieutenant General To An Xo said that based on evidence and results of an investigation, the Hanoi City police decided on September 20 to prosecute and arrest 49-year-old Ngo Thi To Nhien. She was accused of expropriation of documents from an organization in line with Article 342 of the Penal Code, said Xo. Also involved in the case are Duong Duc Viet, 44, a senior specialist at the Investment Management Board at National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT), which is under EVN, and Le Quoc Anh, 39, head of system analysis at Power Engineering Consulting JSC 1 (PECC1). They both face the same accusation as Nhien’s. Xo said the investigation and evidence indicated that in 2020, Nhien was aware that Duong Duc Viet and Le Quoc Anh could gain access to EVN’s power transmission line development plans, especially 220KV and 500KV lines, so Nhien signed part-time employment contracts with Viet and Anh so that she could ask them to obtain confidential documents for her. The police are expanding their investigation, he said, adding “They are confidential files that cannot be shared or publicized.”