The Ministry of Public Security's investigation agency has just issued an investigation conclusion, proposing to prosecute 44 defendants in the case that occurred at Trung Hau 68 Investment Company, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province and related units.
Among them, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh - former Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang province - was proposed to be prosecuted for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties". Eight other defendants were also proposed to be prosecuted with Mr. Binh for this crime.
Chairman of Trung Hau 68 Company Le Quang Binh was proposed to be prosecuted for the crimes of "Giving bribes"; "Violating regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of natural resources" and "Money laundering".
Former Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee - Tran Anh Thu and former Director of An Giang Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment (TNMT) Nguyen Viet Tri were proposed to be prosecuted for "Accepting bribes".
The investigation concluded that, as Chairman of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh was responsible for directing all activities of the An Giang Provincial People's Committee, including the fields of natural resources and minerals.
In early 2020, An Giang Provincial People's Committee prepared to grant sand mines in Cho Moi district, An Giang province to supply for the project connecting National Highway 91 and Long Xuyen city bypass.
Knowing this, Chairman of Trung Hau 68 Company Le Quang Binh came to meet, proposed and was assisted by Nguyen Thanh Binh, then Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee; Tran Anh Thu, Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee; Nguyen Viet Tri, then Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment and Nguyen Bao Trung, then Chief of Office of An Giang Provincial People's Committee to create conditions for Trung Hau 68 Company to be granted a license to explore and exploit the above sand mine.
The investigation agency determined: At the request of Le Quang Binh, Nguyen Thanh Binh directed Tran Anh Thu and Nguyen Viet Tri to create conditions for Trung Hau 68 company to be granted a license to survey and explore sand mines in the form of appointment without going through an auction.
At the same time, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh directed Tran Anh Thu to sign a mineral exploitation license for Trung Hau 68 Company to supply sand for the My Thuan - Can Tho Expressway Project, which was not in accordance with the original policy and objectives of the project, creating conditions for Trung Hau 68 Company to be allowed to exploit sand without having to return the mine to the An Giang Provincial People's Committee.
The investigation concluded that Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh allowed the adjustment of mining capacity so that Trung Hau 68 Company could supply sand for the project connecting National Highway 91 and the Long Xuyen City bypass when Trung Hau Company did not meet the criteria of the contract signed with the construction contractors, which was not in accordance with the criteria issued by the An Giang Provincial People's Committee.
At the same time, Mr. Binh directed Tran Anh Thu and Nguyen Viet Tri to create conditions for Trung Hau 68 company to increase its mining capacity, despite knowing that the riverbed depth in the sand mine area exceeded the permitted level.
Accordingly, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh received 300,000 USD in "thank you" money from Le Quang Binh but proactively returned 250,000 USD. Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh voluntarily paid the remaining 50,000 USD to make up for the loss when working with the Investigation Agency.
The investigation agency determined that from December 24, 2021 to July 29, 2023, Trung Hau 68 Company exploited more than 5 million m3 of sand but supplied more than 1.3 million m3 to the project according to the license; the rest was sold outside and illegally profited nearly 294 billion VND.
