On November 29, the Soc Son Land Development Center coordinated an auction of 58 residential land plots in Dong Lai village, Quang Tien commune, Soc Son district. The starting price was set at nearly VND 2.5 million per square meter, with a bidding step of VND 3 million per square meter for a maximum of six mandatory rounds.
In the fifth round, more than 40 land plots were bid at extremely high prices by a group of customers. Three plots, in particular, reached a staggering price of over VND 30 billion per square meter. However, in the sixth and final round, this group of customers suddenly stopped bidding, resulting in the auction’s failure to conclude successfully. The People’s Committee of Soc Son district has requested the intervention of the police to investigate the matter.
 Soc Son Land Auction on November 29 |
Recently, several localities have organized residential land auctions to generate funds for infrastructure development. However, some individuals and entities have engaged in bid rigging and then forfeited their deposits, causing unease among the public and negative societal impacts. For instance, land auction prices in Thanh Oai and Hoai Duc, Hanoi, soared to VND 100-133 million per square meter, double the prevailing market rates in those areas. Subsequently, some winning bidders forfeited their deposits, forcing the localities to reorganize the auctions.
In 2022, Tan Hoang Minh Group similarly won a land auction in Thu Thiem, Ho Chi Minh City, with a bid of nearly VND 2.5 billion per square meter, only to later forfeit their deposit, triggering a wave of public criticism.
According to lawyer Dinh Duc Duy from the Hanoi Bar Association, the actions of the customer group that bid VND 30 billion per square meter in Soc Son and then stopped bidding midway constitute a prohibited act in asset auctions. Specifically, point c, clause 5, article 9 of the Law on Asset Auction 2016 stipulates the prohibition of “obstructing asset auction activities; causing disorder and disruption at auctions.”
Lawyer Duy asserted that the customer group’s behavior violated the Law on Asset Auction and could incur administrative or criminal penalties. According to point b, clause 1, article 23 of Decree 82/2020/ND-CP, the violators are subject to an administrative fine ranging from VND 7 million to VND 10 million.
However, if the investigating authorities find evidence of “collusion to suppress or inflate prices in the sale of auctioned assets,” the violators will face criminal charges under Article 218 of the 2015 Criminal Code, as amended and supplemented in 2017.
“Specifically, the violators shall be subject to a penalty of a fine ranging from VND 20 million to VND 200 million, non-custodial reform for up to two years, or imprisonment from three months to two years. In case of recidivism or organized crime, the penalty shall be a fine ranging from VND 200 million to VND 1 billion or imprisonment from one year to five years,” lawyer Duy elaborated.
Thanh Hieu
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