HANOI, May 8 (Xinhua) -- An official at Vietnam's Transport Ministry has spent 2.6 million U.S. dollars on betting international soccer matches, and he has tried to bribe influential figures with over 62,600 dollars for lighter charges against him, local media reported Monday.

    Bui Tien Dung, general director of the Project Management Unit No. 18 (PMU18) under the Transport Ministry, which implements and overseas major transport projects, has made soccer bets via two international gambling rings to the tune of some 2.6 million dollars, Transport newspaper quoted initial conclusions of the country's Investigation Agency as saying.

    Before being arrested in January for the charge of gambling, Dung has asked his underlings to use 59,500 dollars and 50 million Vietnamese dong (VND) (over 3,100 dollars) to bribe several state officials so that charges against him would be lessened.

    To date, the Investigation Agency has had no evidence about bribery taking, although the underlings, all detained, have allegedly tried to approach some officials of the General Directorate of Police under the Ministry of Public Security, the People's Supreme Procuracy, and the Government Office.

    According to the initial conclusions, Dung's superior, Deputy Transport Minister Nguyen Viet Tien has intentionally acted counter to state regulations in economic management, and had slack responsibility. Dung and Tien lent 34 automobiles of the PMU 18 and seven other vehicles, which are temporarily imported for re-export, to other local organizations, causing a total loss of more than 14.8 billion VND (930,800 dollars) to the state budget.

    The Vietnamese government has recently asked the National Assembly of Vietnam, the country's highest legislative body, to relieve Transport Minister Dao Dinh Binh, who has already resigned, partly for his slack responsibility for the PMU 18 scandal.

    The World Bank and the UK Department for International Development plan to send an inspection team to Vietnam in June to review implementation of the bank-funded projects, including those carried out by the PMU 18. Enditem