Thien Minh Duc Violations Pervasive, Clearly Indicated in Inspection Conclusion
In the report on cases related to the petroleum business, the Ministry of Industry and Trade stated that in the first 7 months of the year, the Market Management Force inspected and fined several major traders, including Thien Minh Duc Joint Stock Company; Apollo Oil Joint Stock Company; and Trung Linh Investment Joint Stock Company.
All three companies violated the law on business conditions for major traders in the petroleum business.
Regarding Thien Minh Duc Joint Stock Company, the regulatory agency determined that the company did not meet the conditions for a petroleum distribution system as required.
The major trader was fined VND 8.5 billion for administrative violations and had its business license revoked for 45 days (from March 6 to April 21).
Thien Minh Duc Joint Stock Company was established in 2001 and operates in multiple fields, both domestically and internationally, with a focus on petroleum, liquefied gas, paper, packaging, logistics, and transportation.
The company is represented by Mrs. Chu Thi Thanh, the mother of Mr. Chu Dang Khoa (known for his nickname "diamond tycoon"), as its legal representative.
As of September 2023, the company had a charter capital of over VND 2 trillion. Mrs. Chu Thi Thanh holds 77.15%, while Mr. Chu Dang Khoa owns 22.77%, and another individual holds 0.08%.
In the inspection conclusion on petroleum by the Government Inspectorate at the end of last year, Thien Minh Duc Joint Stock Company frequently incorrectly and incompletely declared environmental protection tax; failed to declare and falsely declared the amount of environmental protection tax to be paid.
Although the company owed the state budget, Thien Minh Duc Joint Stock Company still lent 74.85 billion VND to Mr. Chu Dang Khoa and Mrs. Chu Thi Thanh (Chairman of Thien Minh Duc Joint Stock Company), which is not in line with the regulations.
In addition, according to the inspection conclusion, Thien Minh Duc Joint Stock Company is one of many major traders that have used the petroleum price stabilization fund incorrectly, not transferring the account to the fund but keeping it in the company's account.
What did Trung Linh Investment do wrong?
Trung Linh Investment Joint Stock Company was also revoked for 1 month (from June 19 to July 19) and fined VND 245 million for failing to meet the distribution system requirements; failing to maintain the minimum reserve level; and falsifying the distribution system registration.
Trung Linh Investment Joint Stock Company is a 100% private-owned company operating in the fields of petroleum business, wholesale, and retail, as well as other fields. The company was granted a Certificate of Eligibility to operate as a petroleum distributor by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on June 12, 2018, and a Business License for Import and Export of Petroleum Products on January 8, 2021.
On its website, the company describes itself as operating in multiple fields, including petroleum business, transportation, hotel and restaurant services, tourism, and import and export.
Previously, the major trader was also fined for failing to transfer the petroleum price stabilization fund balance to a bank account. The Ministry of Industry and Trade recently requested the company to pay back over VND 26 billion in arrears to the petroleum price stabilization fund from November 2023.
According to the inspection conclusion by the Ministry of Industry and Trade on the petroleum business, Trung Linh Investment Joint Stock Company, despite being a major trader, was also listed as one of the companies that imported diesel oil below the allocated limit in 2021, as stated in the Ministry's Official Letter No. 8266 dated December 22, 2021.
The company also failed to register any changes to its distribution system with the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Meanwhile, CTCP Appollo Oil was fined VND 800 million. The company was fined VND 100 million for selling petroleum products to unauthorized parties and failing to register its distribution system.
In addition, the regulatory agency also expanded its investigation to 14 companies that bought and sold petroleum products from Appollo Oil and found numerous violations, including purchasing or selling petroleum products to unauthorized parties. As a result, the company was fined an additional VND 700 million.
