PC1 Group: 48 Prosecuted Over 500kV Circuit-3 Transmission Line Violations

Overview

Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security has prosecuted 48 defendants in a case involving Tập đoàn PC1 (HOSE: PC1) and the National Power Transmission Corporation (EVNNPT) over the 500kV circuit-3 transmission line from Quảng Trị to Phố Nối. The charges include violations of bidding regulations, accounting violations, giving and receiving bribes, and embezzlement. The disclosure is material for PC1, a HOSE-listed construction and materials group that participated in one of Vietnam’s flagship power infrastructure projects.

Key Facts

• 48 defendants prosecuted in the case, announced at the Ministry of Public Security’s Q3 2026 press conference on 1 October 2026.
• Charges filed: violations of bidding regulations causing serious consequences; violations of accounting regulations causing serious consequences; giving and receiving bribes; and embezzlement of assets.
• The project at issue is the 500kV circuit-3 transmission line running from Quảng Trị to Phố Nối.
• EVNNPT (Tổng Công ty Truyền tải điện Quốc gia) is named as the project’s investor (chủ đầu tư).
• Tập đoàn PC1 is named among the entities under investigation.
• The announcement was made by Thiếu tướng Trần Văn Toản, Deputy Chief of Office of the Police Investigation Agency.
• PC1 shares closed at VND 20,200 on 1 October 2026, the same day as the announcement.

What Happened

At the Ministry of Public Security’s quarterly press briefing on the afternoon of 1 October 2026, Major General Trần Văn Toản, Deputy Chief of Office of the Police Investigation Agency, provided an update on the investigation into the case at the National Power Transmission Corporation, Tập đoàn PC1 and related units. He stated that during implementation of the 500kV circuit-3 line from Quảng Trị to Phố Nối, for which EVNNPT was the investor, multiple violations occurred.

The Police Investigation Agency has so far prosecuted the case and initiated proceedings against 48 defendants on charges of violating bidding regulations causing serious consequences, violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences, giving and receiving bribes, and embezzlement of assets. The agency said it is focusing on clarifying the case and recovering assets in full so the matter can be brought to trial under the law. The announcement did not specify the value of assets involved, the identities of the individual defendants, or the exact allocation of charges between PC1 personnel and those from other entities.

Market Context

PC1 trades on the HOSE exchange and sits in the construction and materials sector, with exposure to power transmission and industrial infrastructure. The stock closed at VND 20,200 on 1 October 2026, the day of the announcement. The 500kV circuit-3 line has been a centrepiece of Vietnam’s effort to relieve transmission bottlenecks between the central and northern regions, and PC1’s participation in the project has been part of its infrastructure order book narrative. Legal proceedings of this scale involving a listed contractor and a state-owned transmission monopoly touch on governance risk across the power construction supply chain, at a time when Vietnam’s broader market has been sensitive to regulatory and enforcement headlines.

Strategic Significance

For long-term investors, the central question is not the headline charge count but the scope of PC1’s exposure: whether the alleged violations are confined to specific project contracts or point to broader weaknesses in the group’s bidding and accounting controls. The 500kV circuit-3 line is strategically important to Vietnam’s power system, and any finding of bid-rigging or accounting irregularities could affect how state utilities structure future transmission tenders and how they select contractors. That, in turn, could influence PC1’s ability to win work from EVNNPT and other state-backed power infrastructure programmes, which are a meaningful part of its revenue pipeline. Asset recovery efforts and any eventual court proceedings will also shape the timeline over which this overhang persists.

What to Watch

• Formal indictment documents or court scheduling that name individual defendants and specify the charges against PC1 personnel versus other entities.
• Any PC1 disclosure to the HOSE on the case’s impact on operations, contracts, or financial statements.
• EVNNPT statements on the 500kV circuit-3 project’s completion status and any tender or contractor changes.
• PC1’s next quarterly earnings release and any provisions, restatements, or audit qualifications linked to the case.
• Follow-on enforcement or procurement reviews across other state power transmission projects.