On the evening of 6/7, after seven days of trial and deliberation, the Central Military Court announced its verdict on the appeals from five defendants and over 300 victims. The case involved the transfer and sale of 63 hectares of national defense land on Nha Trang's coastal road, an incident that occurred 10 years ago.

Former Major Generals Nguyen Duy Cuong, former Principal of the Air Force Officer School, and Hoang Viet Quang, former Deputy Director of the Operations Department, Ministry of National Defense, were found by the lower court to have committed multiple violations during the land transfer process and subsequently received money.

Both individuals were initially sentenced to two years and six months in prison for violating land management regulations. The appellate court converted their sentences to suspended terms after they paid an additional 4.5 billion VND in total. The court considered their family circumstances and the relatively low social danger of their offenses.

Nguyen Thi Hang, sister of Hau "Phao" and Deputy General Director of Phuc Son Group, had an additional 5 billion VND paid by her son. She also committed to using 6 real estate properties, 33 gold pieces, and 10 bank accounts for compensation. Hang's sentence was reduced by two years, bringing her total to five years and six months.

Similarly, Tran Huu Dinh, a friend of Hau "Phao" and Director of Nam A Investment Joint Stock Company, had his wife pay 46 billion VND, representing the entirety of his illicit gains. Dinh also received a two-year reduction for the crime of "fraudulent appropriation of assets," lowering his sentence to six years and six months.

The court noted significant efforts by Hau "Phao" to compensate victims during the preparation and proceedings of the appellate trial. Specifically, before the trial opened, Hau, through Phuc Son Company, agreed to compensate 271 victims and continued to compensate 70 more victims during the appellate proceedings.

The court determined that over 2.700 billion VND has been recovered so far. Therefore, Hau must continue to pay more than 4.300 billion VND. The total combined sentence for Hau across two cases reached the maximum for fixed-term imprisonment, which is 30 years.

Phuc Son Group Chairman Nguyen Van Hau at court. Photo: Danh Lam

The court also addressed the civil aspect, confirming that compensation would continue to be monetary. The panel identified the land buyers as victims, not parties with related rights and obligations as they had claimed. The court ruled that the transactions between Hau and the investors were inherently illegal because Hau intentionally directed his employees to extensively promote the project as having sufficient legal standing and eligibility for capital mobilization, despite this not being true. This deception led customers to believe the claims, resulting in them paying over 7.000 billion VND to Hau.

According to regulations, the court declared these transactions void from the moment of signing. As the case involved fraud, Hau's criminal actions directly caused damages, requiring him to pay monetary compensation without considering other factors. The victims' appeals to increase Hau's sentence were rejected, as the law prevents victims from appealing in a way that worsens the offender's situation.

To ensure this obligation, Hau's assets remain seized, including 2,148 real estate properties and 1,464 land use rights certificates registered under his name and those of related individuals and companies. Additionally, one luxury car with a "lucky" license plate and 5 phone numbers ending in 999999, 888888, and similar patterns will remain seized until compensation is complete.

In addition to sentencing, the court proposed that the People's Committee of Khanh Hoa province and competent authorities complete the legal procedures for using the Nha Trang Air Base land for local socio-economic development. This would allow the project to proceed, ensuring a harmonious balance of benefits for both the enterprise and the victims.

The verdict stated that the former Nha Trang Air Base, covering over 238 hectares, was managed by the Air Force Officer School. In 2015, the government approved transferring this land to Khanh Hoa province for economic, urban, and service project development. Subsequently, the province assigned Phuc Son Company as the investor without a bidding process. Despite not completing all legal procedures, the company subdivided the land, signed nearly 1,000 transfer contracts, and collected over 7.000 billion VND.

Thanh Lam