On the morning of August 9th, as the opening procedure of the trial of defendant Nguyen Thi Loan, former Chairman of the Vimedimex Pharmaceutical Group, was about to begin, the clerk announced the absence of defendant Bui Thanh Huyen, former Deputy Chief of the Hanoi Land Management Agency. Ms. Huyen is charged with “Negligence causing serious consequences.”
In addition to Ms. Huyen, several other individuals with relevant obligations, as well as a number of lawyers, were also absent from the trial.
A lawyer defending Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan, who is charged with “Violation of regulations on auction of assets,” expressed the opinion that the absence of some relevant individuals needed to be considered and that they should be summoned to ensure a comprehensive and objective evaluation of the case.
The prosecutor stated that during the resolution of the case, they had obtained sufficient statements from the relevant individuals. However, defendant Bui Thanh Huyen had submitted a request for a postponement due to health reasons, and the prosecution deemed her presence necessary. Therefore, the reason for the postponement was deemed valid.
As a result, the prosecution proposed to adjourn the trial. After deliberation, the judge accepted the proposal and scheduled the retrial for August 30th.
Nguyen Thi Loan (in black) and her co-defendants at the trial.
According to the case file, defendant Nguyen Thi Loan used three legal entities (including Bac Tu Liem Company, Thanh Tri Company, and My Dinh Company) to direct the participation in the auction of more than 16,000 square meters of land in the project for the construction of technical infrastructure in Co Duong village, Tien Duong commune, Dong Anh district, Hanoi.
During the auction, these three legal entities colluded to bid according to a pre-arranged plan, enabling Bac Tu Liem Company to win the auction with a bid of over 326 billion VND, equivalent to over 20.1 million VND per square meter.
The authorities determined that the actual value of the land was over 28.5 million VND per square meter, equivalent to over 462 billion VND. The defendants’ actions caused a loss of more than 135 billion VND.
