According to the investigation conclusion, in order for Trung Hau 68 Company to be granted a license to explore and exploit sand and increase its mining capacity in violation of the law, ignoring violations in the sand mining process in Cho Moi district, An Giang province, Mr. Le Quang Binh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung Hau 68 Company, directly or directed others to bribe and give money as thanks to former leaders of An Giang province.

At the investigation agency, Mr. Tran Anh Thu (former Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang province) gave a statement consistent with the course of the crime. Accordingly, Mr. Thu admitted to instructing Mr. Nguyen Viet Tri (former Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of An Giang province) to assign subordinates to create conditions, guide and support Trung Hau 68 Company to complete procedures for granting exploration licenses, granting exploitation licenses and adjusting exploitation capacity.

Mr. Thu also admitted that he let Mr. Le Quang Vinh (brother of Mr. Le Quang Binh) repair his house in District 7, Ho Chi Minh City for more than 761 million VND in 2021 and received 200 million VND from Mr. Le Quang Binh during the Lunar New Year 2022, 2023 (100 million VND each time) at Mr. Thu's office at the People's Committee of An Giang province.

Mr. Thu knew that his actions were against the law, but because of the direction of Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh (former Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang Province) and the payment from Trung Hau 68 Company, Mr. Thu still did it. When working with the investigation agency, Mr. Thu voluntarily paid 1 billion VND to remedy the consequences.

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Mr. Tran Anh Thu, former Vice Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee (left) and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh (former Chairman of An Giang Provincial People's Committee)

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, former Chairman of the People's Committee of An Giang province, also admitted that he had intervened, influenced, and directed Mr. Tran Anh Thu and Nguyen Tri Viet to create all conditions for Trung Hau 68 Company to be granted a license to explore and exploit illegally.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh admitted that he was thanked by the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung Hau 68 Company and given a total of 300,000 USD 6 times. Immediately after that, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh returned 250,000 USD to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Trung Hau 68 Company, kept 50,000 USD and voluntarily compensated for the consequences.

Recommendations of the Investigation Agency

According to the Investigation Police Agency, from December 24, 2021 to July 29, 2023, Trung Hau 68 Company exploited 5,081,996 m3 of sand. Of which, the volume of sand exploited and sold to retail customers in violation of regulations was 3,710,751 m3, earning a profit of more than VND 293 billion.

Completing the investigation conclusion of the case, the Investigation Police Agency stated that, in the past, the state management of minerals was still lax and there was collusion between enterprises and individuals assigned to do management work.

To improve the effectiveness of state management of minerals used as common construction materials (sand for filling), the Investigation Agency recommends the People's Committees of provinces, cities and related Departments and branches to consider a number of issues such as:

Strengthen management of minerals used as common construction materials, especially construction sand; closely monitor and inspect licensing, exploitation, trading and use of river sand, paying special attention to negative impacts on the environment and causing landslides, subsidence and river bank subsidence during exploitation; encourage and increase the use of materials to replace natural sand (use ash and cement as filling materials), overcome the shortage of sand and construction filling in some localities.

Effectively carry out propaganda and dissemination of laws on minerals and environmental protection to people, businesses and relevant organizations. Review inadequate regulations in state management of mineral activities to propose competent authorities to amend and supplement accordingly; study and adjust planning and usage plans, creating conditions for mineral organizations to comply with the provisions of law.

Besides, it is necessary to strictly handle violations in mineral activities; have effective solutions to strictly manage mining output; comply with tax obligations to the state, and responsibility to the locality of mineral organizations operating in the area.

Proactively coordinate with People's Committees of neighboring provinces to effectively implement the Coordination Regulations in state management of water resources, mineral resources, and environmental protection; effectively resolve problems arising in border areas between localities.