The Supreme People's Court in Ho Chi Minh City reviewed the appeals of nearly 20 individuals involved in the country's largest illegal sand mining operation, which caused nearly 294 billion VND in losses to the State, on 16/9.
Nguyen Thanh Binh, the former chairman of An Giang province, was identified as the one who directed subordinates to facilitate Trung Hau 68 Company's illegal sand mining activities. Binh accepted his 8 year and 6 month sentence for abuse of power and did not appeal.
Similarly, Le Quang Binh, chairman of Trung Hau 68 Company, accepted his combined 30-year sentence—the maximum term of imprisonment—for bribery (13 years), violating regulations on resource exploration and exploitation (6 years), and money laundering (12 years).
In addition to the criminal penalties, he was also ordered to repay nearly 294 billion VND from illegal sand mining and 817 million VND in lost tax revenue.
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Former chairman of An Giang province, Nguyen Thanh Binh, during his trial in March. Photo: Quynh Tran |
Former chairman of An Giang province, Nguyen Thanh Binh, during his trial in March. Photo: Quynh Tran
Although neither Binh nor the chairman of Trung Hau 68 appealed, during the appellate proceedings, both paid additional restitution. The former chairman of An Giang province paid an additional 1 billion VND.
Nearly 20 of the 44 other defendants in the case appealed their initial sentences, seeking reductions, suspended sentences, or fines.
These defendants maintained their appeal requests in court today.
The procuracy acknowledged the additional restitution payments made by the former An Giang chairman and the chairman of Trung Hau 68, despite their lack of appeals, as "demonstrating remorse" and recommended a sentence reduction of 12 to 18 months.
The procuracy also recommended sentence reductions of 6-18 months for some other defendants, while recommending that the original sentences be upheld for the remaining defendants due to the absence of new mitigating circumstances.
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Defendant Le Quang Binh, chairman of Trung Hau 68 Company. Photo: Quynh Tran |
Defendant Le Quang Binh, chairman of Trung Hau 68 Company. Photo: Quynh Tran
The verdict established that in 2021, the An Giang Provincial People's Committee granted Trung Hau 68 a license for surveying and exploration, followed by exploitation rights at the My Hiep and Binh Phuoc Xuan sand mines by the end of the year. The license allowed Trung Hau 68 to extract 300,000 m3 of sand within one year.
From March 2022 to July 2023, while operating the mines, Trung Hau 68 repeatedly requested increased extraction capacity. Despite the company not meeting the necessary requirements, the provincial chairman directed his subordinates to adjust and amend the permit 7 times, increasing the total permitted sand extraction volume to 1.5 million m3 and doubling the extraction period. The extracted sand was only authorized for use in 4 projects: My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway; the road connecting National Highway 91 and the Long Xuyen City bypass; the Long Dien A - B canal road; and the Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau sections of the North-South Expressway project.
Exploiting the mining permit, Le Quang Binh directed his deputy general directors, Hoang Hai Thuy, Le Trong Hai, Vo Truyen Thong, and CEO Nguyen Tan Linh, to extract over 5 million m3 of sand. Of this, just over 1.3 million m3 was supplied to authorized projects, while over 3.7 million m3 was illegally mined and sold to private buyers, generating a profit of 294 billion VND. Le Quang Binh also sold mining rights within Trung Hau 68's concession to other companies for further extraction and retail sales.
Authorities determined that Nguyen Thanh Binh's directives to his subordinates facilitated Trung Hau 68's illegal extraction of 3.7 million m3 of sand, resulting in nearly 294 billion VND in losses to the State.
Hai Duyen
