The LDG Investment Ex-Chairman’s Testimony on Illegal Construction in the Tan Thinh Residential Area

At the first-instance trial related to the Tan Thinh residential area (in Doi 61, Trang Bom district, Dong Nai), the defendants, former leaders of LDG JSC, admitted to deceiving customers during the project’s implementation.

Former LDG Chairman Admits to Being Overconfident and Impulsive

According to the defendant, Nguyen Khanh Hung, former Chairman of LDG JSC, he admitted to being overconfident and impulsive, leading to the organization of construction when the project’s legal procedures were not completed.

Mr. Hung stated that after presenting the master plan, the entire implementation process was carried out by subordinate departments. Seeing that the progress reports matched the plan, he inspected the site and found no issues until the case was discovered.

Regarding the amount of over VND 533 billion collected from customers, Mr. Hung said that the entire amount had been invested in the Tan Thinh Residential Area project, bringing the total investment to about VND 1,000 billion.

The defendant stated that if all customers requested a refund, the company would have to transfer the project to raise funds for repayment. However, if customers agreed to continue receiving houses, Mr. Hung committed to completing the missing legal documents and continuing the project until its completion.

According to the defendant, the project is currently missing some legal procedures to be recognized as complete. He expressed his desire to rectify the consequences and ensure customers’ interests if given the opportunity to continue the project.

The defendant, Nguyen Quoc Vy Liem, former Deputy General Director in charge of Business – Marketing of LDG JSC, stated that he was only responsible for the business activities, buying and selling houses belonging to the project and was not aware of the project’s legal status.

According to Mr. Liem, the signing of contracts and sales consulting were carried out following instructions from superiors, with information that the project had completed all necessary procedures.

Some Defendants Claimed Unawareness of Wrongdoings

The group of defendants, former officials and employees of the Urban Management Division and the former Natural Resources and Environment Division of Trang Bom district, also admitted to the crimes as charged in the indictment.

Among them, defendants Phan Duy Nghia, former head of the Urban Management Division, and Nguyen Hai Trieu, former deputy head of the Urban Management Division, stated that due to the delegation of tasks to subordinates, they were not aware of the violations related to the legal dossier of the Tan Thinh Residential Area project.

Meanwhile, the indictment stated that during their tenure, defendants Nghia, Trieu, and their subordinates had inspected and reviewed the progress of land filling and construction at the project.

They discovered that LDG Company had not completed the legal dossier as required. However, the defendants took no preventive measures and allowed the company to continue illegal construction, leading to serious consequences.

According to the indictment of the People’s Procuracy of Dong Nai province, in September 2016, the People’s Committee approved in principle the investment policy of LDG Company for the Tan Thinh Residential Area project (over 18ha).

From May 2018 to August 2020, even though the company had not yet been granted a change of land use purpose, land allocation, or construction permit, it still illegally carried out land filling, road construction, and building construction, including 198 villas, 290 linked houses, 192 houses with completed foundations, and technical infrastructure works (including roads, electricity poles, drainage ditches, and green spaces) on a total land area of over 180,000 m2.

During the contract signing process with customers, the company did not provide clear information about the project’s legal status. This act of deception by Hung and Liem aimed to appropriate over VND 533 billion from 359 customers.

In this case, Nguyen Khanh Hung, former Chairman of LDG JSC, and Nguyen Quoc Vy Liem, former Deputy General Director in charge of Business and Marketing of LDG JSC, were charged with fraud.

Five other defendants, former leaders and employees of the Urban Management Division and specialists from the former Natural Resources and Environment Division of Trang Bom district, were tried for abuse of position and power while performing official duties, including Phan Duy Nghia (former head of the Urban Management Division), Nguyen Hai Trieu (former deputy head of the Urban Management Division), Luong Quang Huy (former deputy head of the Urban Management Division), Nguyen Van Nhat Huy (former head of the Planning and Construction Organization, Urban Management Division), and Nguyen Lan Hanh (former specialist of the Natural Resources and Environment Division).