Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Delivers 448 Certificates of Land Ownership and Compensation Agreements, Receiving VND1,882 Billion
In the case involving Van Thinh Phat Group, SCB Bank, and other related companies and organizations, which was recently trialed in the first instance, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai Joint Stock Company (Quoc Cuong Gia Lai) was determined to be a party with relevant rights and obligations.
In order to ensure the enforcement of the judgment against Ms. Truong My Lan, the審判庁of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court ordered Quoc Cuong Gia Lai to return VND2,882 billion. The court also ordered the continued seizure of 16 real estate properties with a total area of 1 ha in Phuoc Kien commune, Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City, and transferred the case to the Ministry of Public Security for further investigation in the second phase.
Before selling the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai had only compensated 84.5ha/91.96ha. Photo: cafef.vn |
The aforementioned VND2,882 billion is the amount Quoc Cuong Gia Lai received from Sunny Island Joint Stock Company (Sunny Island), a company belonging to the Van Thinh Phat ecosystem, in a transaction involving the sale of the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project in Phuoc Kien commune, Nha Be District, Ho Chi Minh City (Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area).
Spanning 91.96 ha, the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project is a mixed-use development for which Quoc Cuong Gia Lai had won the bid for infrastructure construction and was in the process of completing other legal procedures.
Prior to selling the project, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai had completed compensation for 84.5 ha/91.96 ha, including 9.5 ha of land interspersed with canals, 10 ha of land along National Highway 50 already compensated for the purpose of exchanging social housing, and 65 ha compensated to residents whose land was part of the project.
To officially become the investor of the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai had to complete two sets of legal procedures, including the project to construct infrastructure for the residential area and the project to develop a commercial residential area within the land boundary.
On March 29, 2017, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai signed a sale and purchase agreement for the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project with Sunny Island.
In addition to Sunny Island’s payment obligations, the contract also stipulated that Quoc Cuong Gia Lai had to hand over the project’s land compensation records so that both parties could hire a bank to manage them, ensuring the fulfillment of the contract.
According to the agreement in the contract, Sunny Island had to pay Quoc Cuong Gia Lai VND4,800 billion no later than September 10, 2017.
Between April and July 2017, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai handed over to Sunny Island on two separate occasions 301 original certificates of land use rights, house ownership rights, and other assets attached to the land (certificates of land ownership), and 147 original agreements for compensation of land plots within the project.
By the deadline of September 10, 2017, Sunny Island had only paid Quoc Cuong Gia Lai VND2,882 billion. Of this amount, VND1,150 billion was transferred to BIDV Bank to clear the project and VND1,732 billion was transferred to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai to cover compensation payments.
Claiming that its partner had breached its payment obligations, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai issued a notice of contract termination and filed a lawsuit.
Quoc Cuong Gia Lai’s Statement
Prior to the first instance verdict in the case involving Van Thinh Phat Group, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai had provided detailed information about the sale of the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project to its shareholders. However, the company did not mention its obligation to return VND2,882 billion.
Specifically, in the audited consolidated financial statements for the financial year 2023 published on March 29, 2024, Quoc Cuong Gia Lai stated that on December 9, 2020, the company had filed a lawsuit against Sunny Island at the Vietnam International Arbitration Center (VIAC) regarding a dispute arising from the sale and purchase of the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project.
On May 10, 2023, VIAC ruled that Quoc Cuong Gia Lai’s termination of the sale and purchase agreement with Sunny Island was in accordance with the regulations and ordered Sunny Island to return all land compensation records for the project.
Furthermore, Sunny Island’s transfer of the compensation records for 65 ha of the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project to SCB Bank without Quoc Cuong Gia Lai’s written consent or authorization was a violation of the regulations.
According to VIAC’s ruling, in addition to VND3.4 billion in arbitration fees, Sunny Island had to return all land compensation records for the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project to Quoc Cuong Gia Lai.
Sunny Island subsequently filed a request to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court to annul VIAC’s ruling.
During the process of resolving Sunny Island’s request to annul the VIAC ruling, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court received a statement from the Ministry of Public Security stating that the sale and purchase agreement for the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project was related to the case involving Van Thinh Phat Group, SCB Bank, etc., which was under investigation.
The statement further indicated that the 301 certificates of land ownership and 147 land compensation agreements for the Bac Phuoc Kien Residential Area project were documents and evidence in the case. On this basis, on December 5, 2023, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court issued a decision to annul VIAC’s ruling.
Anh Phương
