Sentencing "sand tycoon" Ngo Phu Cuong for tax evasion and money laundering

The jury determined that the criminal acts of the defendant Ngo Phu Cuong (50 years old, residing in Long Xuyen city) were dangerous to society and violated the tax and financial sectors protected by law. However, at the investigation agency and at the trial, the defendant confessed honestly and repented. The defendant's family has fully paid the amount of tax evasion and money laundering; the defendant committed the crime for the first time.

Regarding the act of tax evasion, the Trial Panel determined that the defendant Ngo Phu Cuong was given many mitigating circumstances, and the amount of tax evasion paid by the defendant's family fully remedied the consequences. At the trial, it was determined that the defendant had a stable job, had assets and a stable income, and was able to fully exercise his rights according to the court's decision. The Trial Panel believed that if the prison sentence for "tax evasion" was applied to the defendant, the property would not be profited for the State. On the other hand, the defendant's crime was a crime in the tax and financial sector, and the legal penalty framework stipulated that a fine could be imposed. Therefore, the Trial Panel imposed a fine with the maximum penalty as prescribed for the act of tax evasion.

The Trial Panel sentenced defendant Ngo Phu Cuong to pay 4.5 billion VND to the State budget for tax evasion; 3 years in prison for "money laundering", and fined the defendant an additional 100 million VND to the State budget. At the same time, the defendant's 8.425 billion VND that caused damage to the State budget was confiscated and added to the State budget.

According to the indictment, from 2010 to 2017, Ngo Phu Cuong established and directly operated 4 Limited Liability Companies (Phu Cuong, Cuong Cat One Member, Song Thoai One Member, Ngo Phu Cuong One Member) and 1 branch (Ngo Phu Cuong One Member Limited Liability Company Branch, headquartered in An Giang and Dong Thap) to buy and sell sand.

From 2014 to 2019, Cuong bought sand of unknown origin in An Giang and Dong Thap, then resold it to companies and businesses based in localities such as An Giang, Dong Thap, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ben Tre, Kien Giang, Long An, Vinh Long, Tien Giang, Can Tho and Ho Chi Minh City. Payments for sand purchases were made through Ngo Phu Cuong's account and Ngo Thanh Lam's account (Cuong's daughter) with a total revenue from sand sales of over 84.2 billion VND.

However, Cuong did not issue invoices for sand sales and declared incorrect sales revenue, reducing the amount of value added tax payable, causing a loss to the state budget of more than VND 8,425 billion.

The investigation also determined that in 2017, Cuong learned that the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade - An Giang Branch was looking for a buyer for 2,999.6 square meters of land belonging to My An Garment Export Company Limited (which was mortgaged to a bank and was no longer able to pay the debt). After that, Cuong directly contacted the bank and Nguyen Thanh Tung (Director of My An Garment Export Company Limited) to agree to buy the above land area for over 30.1 billion VND.

According to the conclusion of the indictment: Cuong used the money to evade value added tax of VND 800 million to pay for the transfer of land use rights of an area of ​​2,999.6 m2 of My An Garment Export Company Limited through Cuong's account at the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade - An Giang Branch, which is an act of money laundering.

Regarding the actions of the representatives of companies and enterprises that bought sand from defendant Cuong without issuing invoices, An Giang Provincial Police sent an official dispatch to the tax authorities where the companies and enterprises are headquartered, requesting clarification of tax declarations according to regulations. However, up to now, the tax authorities have not yet responded, so the authorities will continue to investigate, clarify and handle the matter later.