On 12/8, after nearly a year of investigation, the Lam Dong Provincial People's Court sentenced five defendants in a case involving violations of natural resource exploitation regulations and tax evasion in Ham Tan and La Gi (formerly Binh Thuan province).

The jury sentenced Thuan (56 years old, residing in Son My commune) to 4 years and 6 months in prison for violating natural resource exploitation regulations and tax evasion.

For the same charge of violating natural resource exploitation regulations, Nguyen Phuoc Hue (landowner, Son My commune) received an 18-month sentence. Hoang Van Thao (the person who attempted to bribe officials) received a 15-year sentence for fraud and asset appropriation.

According to the jury, the defendants confessed, returned the evaded taxes, and had previously contributed to charitable activities in the locality, which were considered mitigating factors in their sentencing.

Defendant Tran Van Thuan (right, in the blue shirt) standing next to Hoang Van Thao at the trial. Photo: Thuan An

According to the indictment, in addition to Long Thai Viet Company, Thuan also managed Phuong Nam Company (under his wife's name). From late 2021 to July 2023, through these two companies, Thuan orchestrated the illegal exploitation of nearly 40,000 m3 of sand in three areas of Ham Tan and La Gi, with a total value of nearly 6 billion dong.

Upon discovering the over-extraction, Thuan instructed employees to return the mined sand to the original pit to conceal the violation. This act was later discovered by authorities during an inspection.

Before the court, Thuan admitted to purchasing over 7,700 m2 of land in Son My commune, Ham Tan district, from defendant Hue for sand mining, even though this area was not licensed for mineral exploitation. Hue was accused of illegally profiting 170 million dong from this transaction.

Authorities stated that while managing the two companies, Thuan also directed employees not to keep accounting records, not to issue warehouse receipts, and to conduct mineral trading through personal bank accounts. The total amount of tax evaded through the two companies reached over 3.1 billion dong (including resource tax, value-added tax, and corporate income tax).

While Thuan and his wife's companies were under investigation, defendant Hoang Van Thao (residing in TP HCM) boasted of his connections with high-ranking officials and claimed he could help Thuan receive only an administrative penalty. Believing him, Thuan and his wife gave Thao a total of over 2.25 billion dong (including cash, USD, and foreign liquor) on five occasions. However, Thao failed to deliver on his promise.

According to the verdict, Nga, Thuan's wife and director of Phuong Nam Company, was aware of the illegal activities and signed the financial statements to legitimize the company's records. Accountant Nguyen Thi Thuy Diem was also complicit in concealing these activities.

Today, Nga was fined 1.5 billion dong and Diem 500 million dong for tax evasion.

Tu Huynh