Why were successful fertilizer business couple arrested?

Dak Lak Provincial Police said they had arrested Bui Van Chanh (General Director of the United States International Fertilizer Corporation - VINA) and his wife Nguyen Thi Cam My (42 years old, General Director of Nam Duong Fertilizer Trading Joint Stock Company) and two accountants for the act of producing and trading fake fertilizers on January 22. The police are expanding the investigation to clarify the roles of many people involved.

Before being arrested, Mr. Chanh and his wife were known as successful businessmen, always appearing in luxury and using expensive cars. In 2022, Ms. My won the gold prize in the contest Shining the beauty of Binh Dinh women: Graceful - Brave - Talented organized by the Binh Dinh Provincial Women Entrepreneurs Association in coordination with the Binh Dinh Provincial Women's Union.

According to the initial investigation, the two companies of Mrs. My and her husband produced and distributed fake NPK fertilizer to 187 agents in 12 provinces and cities: Dak Nong, Dak Lak, Gia Lai, Kon Tum, Lam Dong, Khanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Da Nang City and Ho Chi Minh City. The two also established 7 member companies to facilitate the advertising and trading of many fertilizer products on the market.

After nearly a year of investigation, the police determined that the fake fertilizer branded NPK was produced by Nam Duong Fertilizer Trading Joint Stock Company located in Nhon Hoa Industrial Park, Binh Dinh Province and the United States International Fertilizer Group Joint Stock Company - VINA located in Vinh Loc 2 Industrial Park, Long An Province.

For more than 2 years, Ms. My and her husband have smuggled nearly 30,000 tons of fake fertilizer into the market: in 2023, they produced and sold over 13,000 tons of fertilizer; in 2024, over 16,000 tons; in the first 8 days of January this year, they smuggled 501 tons of fake fertilizer.

Searching the headquarters and warehouses of these companies, the authorities seized 10,264 bags of NPK fertilizers with a total recorded weight of more than 513 tons; more than 4,000 tons of raw materials for fertilizer production along with many papers, documents, and books.

The Chanh couple said that the price of raw potassium has increased and is scarce due to import. To reduce production costs, they have issued production formulas for each NPK fertilizer product code. Among them, there are types with low or no potassium content.