HCMC – Nguyen Van Vinh, former secretary of the Party Committee of Lao Cai Province, has been accused of accepting bribes totaling VND5 billion and signing multiple documents to facilitate illegal mining of apatite ore.
The People’s Procuracy of Lao Cai has filed charges against Vinh and 15 other defendants for various offenses, including money laundering, violations of regulations related to research, exploration, and resource exploitation, and abuse of their official positions.
Vinh, 63, and Doan Van Huong, former chairman of the Lao Cai Province People’s Committee, are among those prosecuted for abusing their positions while performing official duties.
Several former provincial leaders in Lao Cai also face similar charges, including Mai Dinh Dinh, former director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Le Ngoc Duong, former deputy director of the department; Nguyen Thanh Duong and Le Ngoc Hung, both former vice chairmen of the People’s Committee; and Phan Van Cuong, former deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade.
Seven individuals at Apatit Vietnam Company have been prosecuted for violating regulations on resource research, exploration and exploitation. Meanwhile, Nguyen Manh Thua, director of Lilama Company, is facing charges of money laundering and violating regulations on resource research and exploitation.
According to the indictment, a group of officials in Lao Cai improperly issued documents and investment certificates, as well as allocated 3.77 hectares of land to Lilama Company for the development of a hotel and restaurant project.
This action enabled the unlawful extraction and sale of 1.5 million tons of apatite ore, valued at VND610 billion, resulting in Lilama’s illegal gains of VND170 billion and Apatit Vietnam’s profits of VND184 billion.
