The Department of Defense’s Criminal Investigation Agency has just sent a Notification to the Thanh An General Company, the Ministry of the Defense; the Ba Dinh Investment and Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company; the International Holding Joint Stock Company; and the whistleblower about the results of the resolution of the source of information about crimes related to the Thanh An Tower project at No. 21 Le Van Luong (Nhan Chinh ward, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi).
The Criminal Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Defense has initiated criminal proceedings for “Violating the provisions on land management” at Thanh An Tower project (later renamed Manhattan Tower), No. 21 Le Van Luong (Hanoi).
In the notification, the Department of Defense’s Criminal Investigation Agency said that before that, it had received a denunciation from a number of individuals who bought apartments at the Thanh An Tower project requesting the Ministry of National Defense and competent authorities to verify and clarify the issue of laxity in management of land, capital, and State property, irregularities in project management, and responsibilities of Thanh An General Company in selecting business cooperation partners; to strictly and thoroughly handle violations of the investor; to withdraw the project from Thanh An General Company and Ba Dinh Company and transfer it to other units with sufficient capacity to implement it; to clarify the responsibility of the banks in lending and disbursing to customers borrowing capital.
Initially, the results of the resolution of the crime complaint, the Criminal Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Defense has decided to initiate criminal proceedings for “Violating the provisions on land management” occurring in Thanh An Tower project as prescribed in Clause 3, Article 229 of the Penal Code.
4 times adjusting the planning , turning agency land into high-rise buildings
Previously, the Ministry of Construction’s Inspectorate concluded that there were many violations related to planning, planning adjustment, and construction management approved in the area on both sides of Le Van Luong Road (Hanoi), including the Thanh An Tower project at No. 21 Le Van Luong.
The inspection conclusion pointed out a series of violations regarding planning adjustments and construction at the Thanh An Tower Office, Commercial Service, and Housing Complex project, invested by Thanh An General Company.
The Ministry of Construction’s Inspectorate pointed out a series of violations regarding the planning adjustment of Thanh An Tower project.
According to the inspection conclusion, the Hanoi People’s Committee adjusted the plan 3 times, the Department of Planning and Architecture approved the wrong general plan once contrary to legal regulations, approved the general plan with another administrative procedure once when there was a detailed plan with sufficient conditions to approve investment in construction, and granted a permit.
“The 4 times of wrong adjustments changed from the land for agency renovation and refurbishment (2002, 2006) to an office agency with 25 floors (2008); to an office, commercial service, and apartment building for sale (2010), increasing the land area for construction from 6,107m2 to 6,146.95m2, increasing the construction density from 40% to 51%, increasing the number of floors from an average of 5 floors to 30 floors, increasing the construction area from 2,443m2 to 3,145m2, increasing the floor area for construction from 12,214m2 to 76,140m2, and increasing the population size from 500 people to about 1,308 people (estimated at 327 apartments for living x 4 people/apartment). The responsibility belongs to the Department of Planning and Architecture, Hanoi People’s Committee”, the inspection conclusion stated.
According to the record, the Thanh An Tower project in the “golden land” at No. 21 Le Van Luong is still a concrete block standing “still” for many years. The initial investor of the project, Thanh An General Company, later transferred cooperation to Ba Dinh Investment and Construction Consulting Joint Stock Company. In 2018, the project was renamed Manhattan Tower, and the project developer was also a new name – Landmark Holding Joint Stock Company, later renamed International Holding Joint Stock Company (LMH).
