Prosecution of Director of Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province

August 15, 2023 20:15

Mr. Nguyen Viet Tri, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province, was prosecuted for violations in sand exploitation and trading activities of Trung Hau 68 Investment Joint Stock Company.

On the afternoon of August 15, the Investigation Police Agency of the Ministry of Public Security issued a decision to prosecute the criminal case of "Violating regulations on natural resource exploration and exploitation; Giving and receiving bribes; Abusing positions and powers while performing official duties; Illegally printing, issuing, and trading invoices and documents for payment to the State budget" occurring at Trung Hau 68 Company and related units.

At the same time, the Investigation Police Agency decided to prosecute 18 suspects on 5 charges.

Specifically, prosecuted for the crime of "Violating regulations on research, exploration, and exploitation of natural resources", stipulated in Article 227 and the crime of "Giving bribes" stipulated in Article 364 of the Penal Code against Le Quang Binh (Chairman of the Board of Directors, General Director), Vo Truyen Thong (Deputy General Director), and Nguyen Tan Linh (Executive Director of Trung Hau 68 Mine Company).

Mr. Nguyen Viet Tri, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province

Prosecuted for the crime of "Violating regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of natural resources", stipulated in Article 227 of the Penal Code, against: Le Trong Hai (Deputy General Director), Hoang Hai Thuy (Deputy General Director), Tran Anh Tuan (Project Director) and employees of Trung Hau 68 Company including: Nguyen Minh Thoi, Nguyen Van Tuan and Nguyen Dinh Nhan.

Prosecuted for the crime of "Illegal printing, issuance, and trading of invoices and documents for payment to the State budget as prescribed in Article 203 of the Penal Code" against Tu Quang Xuan (Director of Phuoc Xuyen Company).

Prosecuted for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties" as prescribed in Article 356 of the Penal Code, against: Huynh Van Thai (Head of Minerals Department, Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang), Tran Van Hai (Director), and staff of the monitoring center, Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province, including: Truong Minh Tam, Thai Thanh Quy, Le Nhut Truong, Nguyen Van Tho and Bui Minh Tuan, Director of Nam Khang Company.

Prosecuted for the crime of "Receiving bribes" under Article 354 of the Penal Code against Nguyen Viet Tri, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province.

The investigation results determined that Trung Hau - Tong 68 Investment Joint Stock Company was licensed by the People's Committee of An Giang province to exploit a total volume of 1,531,200 m3 of sand to supply to 4 projects: My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway Project; the route connecting National Highway 91 and the Long Xuyen city bypass; Long Dien AB canal project and component projects of the Can Tho - Hau Giang and Hau Giang - Ca Mau sections of the North - South Expressway Project, Eastern section.

Taking advantage of the granted mineral exploitation license, Le Quang Binh directed his employees and hired related subjects to organize the exploitation of 4,780,894 m3 of sand, exceeding the licensed reserve by over 3.2 million m3, with an estimated value of about 253 billion VND. Binh and his accomplices left the amount of sand exploited in excess of the license out of the books and did not declare or pay financial obligations for this amount of sand exploited in excess of the license.

To consume illegally mined sand for illegal profits, Le Quang Binh and his accomplices used tricks through intermediary companies they established and managed to buy fake input invoices to legalize the origin of the sand.

Binh used the collected money to pay a number of officials of functional agencies, including Nguyen Viet Tri, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province.

Currently, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency is focusing on investigating and clarifying the nature, roles, and criminal acts of the defendants and related subjects, expanding the investigation, clarifying the nature of the case, and thoroughly recovering assets for the State.

According to VTC News