The Ho Chi Minh City People's Procuracy has concluded its investigation and prosecuted Hoang Thi Huong Lan, former head of the judicial record division at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice, along with 15 others, for a series of violations in issuing judicial record certificates at the department.
Among those charged, Lan, Tran Vo Tan Khoa (former civil servant of the legal documents division), Le Vu Linh, and Dang Minh Tong (former deputy head and former neighborhood police officer of ward 1 police, old district 5) were prosecuted for accepting bribes.
In connection with the case, Nguyen Van Binh, director of HPN Trading and Consulting Services Company Limited, his wife Tran To Oanh, and the remaining 10 defendants (including company directors, lawyers, notary office staff, and a street vendor) were prosecuted for giving bribes or brokering bribes.
Ward police legalize residence for foreigners
The judicial record division of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice is responsible for receiving, processing, and issuing judicial record certificates. Regulations state that foreigners seeking judicial record certificate number one must submit applications in person or with legal authorization, and currently reside in the locality.
According to the indictment, the defendants exploited the demand for expedited judicial record certificates from individuals and organizations. They leveraged connections with authorized personnel to quickly process a large volume of applications illegally, aiming for personal gain.
HPN Company provided legal consulting services, processed judicial record certificate applications, and confirmed residence for foreigners.
The indictment alleges that for foreigners without actual residence or temporary residence, Binh and Oanh agreed to process judicial record certificate applications by obtaining fraudulent temporary residence confirmations before submitting the applications. Customers did not need to visit the Department of Justice in person or provide authorization. Each application incurred a fee of 2,5 to 3,1 million dong.
Due to his acquaintance with Nguyen Dinh Tung, an officer from the crime prevention unit of Ward 1 Police (old district 5, Ho Chi Minh City), Binh asked Tung to create fraudulent "guest temporary residence registration information" forms starting in 4/2024, at a cost of 700.000 dong per application.
To legalize residence conditions for foreigners, Tung agreed with Dang Minh Tong to pay 300.000-400.000 dong for each case. Tong then used an official account to fraudulently enter residence information for 237 foreigners at 47 local addresses, self-generated temporary residence confirmation forms, and presented them to his superior, Le Vu Linh, for signature and seal.
The indictment determined that Binh spent 165,9 million dong to legalize illegal temporary residence applications. Tung profited 80,7 million dong, Tong 77,6 million dong, and Linh 45,1 million dong.
Lawyers, businesses connect with Department of Justice officials to handle 'VIP' applications
With temporary residence confirmation forms, Binh continued to leverage personal connections, asking Tran Vo Tan Khoa, a one-stop-shop employee in the judicial record division, to process applications for 500.000 dong each (including fees).
The investigation found that at the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice's one-stop-shop, Tran Vo Tan Khoa connected with multiple sources to accept thousands of applications for absent individuals, those with incorrect information, or "VIP" applications that bypassed queues and numbering systems. With 2.465 applications processed, Khoa profited over 481 million dong.
Similarly, Nguyen Van Khai, director of Viet Uy Tin Company, processed judicial record certificates for clients who sought expedited services without needing to be present or provide authorization, charging 2-4,5 million dong per application.
Khai then used an intermediary to transfer applications to Hoang Thi Huong Lan, then head of the judicial record division (Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice), requesting expedited processing. Lan agreed to process each case for 1,2 million dong, including statutory fees.
Additionally, authorities determined that lawyer Tran Trong The and Duong Tuyet Linh, a street vendor outside the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Justice, accepted requests to expedite judicial record certificates, allowing them to be obtained earlier than scheduled without queuing or direct submission. After receiving applications, Linh forwarded them to Lan for processing.
Through this method, from 2018 to early 2025, Lan received 951 applications via various sources and profited over 2,2 billion dong.
The Procuracy stated that the defendants' actions undermined the proper functioning and reputation of agencies and units, as well as state administrative order, necessitating severe punishment.
Hai Duyen
