Crafty Schemes: How a Group of Land Registry Officials Funnel Unsuspecting Citizens to ‘ touts’

Senior Officials Involved in Expedited ‘Red Book’ and Document Processing Ring

On April 13, 2025, the People’s Court of Thanh Hoa Province sentenced 44 defendants in a major corruption case involving bribery and abuse of power at the Sầm Sơn City branch of the Land Registration Office.

According to the indictment, between 2021 and 2023, during the process of handling procedures related to land use rights and ownership of assets attached to land, Nguyen The Hung, director of the Sầm Sơn City branch of the Land Registration Office, and nine other branch employees colluded to receive illegal payments.

This group of defendants received money from 28 other defendants in the case to either directly process or facilitate expedited paperwork for land certificates and other documents through Trinh Thi Hoa, an official at the Sầm Sơn – Quảng Xương Tax Office, and Cao Thi Thuy Dung, Le Xuan Tuong, and Cao Xuan Hiep, officials at the Thanh Hoa Provincial Land Registration Office overseeing Sầm Sơn City.

Nguyen The Hung, as the director and head of the branch, was aware that his employees were receiving money to expedite processes, which is against regulations. However, he allowed this to continue for an extended period, causing public dissatisfaction and damaging the reputation of the state management agency. Therefore, Hung bears primary responsibility for the case. Nonetheless, as he did not directly participate in the agreements or receive money from intermediaries, his sentence only considers the money he received from branch employees.

The branch employees are held accountable for the money they received and bribed to intermediaries, as well as to officials at the Sầm Sơn – Quảng Xương Tax Office and the Thanh Hoa Provincial Land Registration Office.

The indictment identified 28 defendants as intermediaries who bribed a total of over 1.3 billion VND in this case.

Not Instructing Citizens to Rely on Intermediaries

The defendants’ modus operandi involved citizens approaching the Sầm Sơn City branch of the Land Registration Office with requests for land-related procedures such as land separation, transfer of land use rights, issuance of new certificates, changes of name, and other land-related procedures. Instead of providing clear instructions or guidance on how to rectify or supplement their applications, branch employees would repeatedly return the citizens’ applications or fail to provide results by the deadline stated in the appointment slip. This effectively forced citizens to rely on intermediaries, who would then demand money to facilitate the processing of their paperwork until the land-related certificates were issued.

In addition to bribery charges, Nguyen The Hung (Director of the Sầm Sơn City branch of the Land Registration Office), Le Huy Hoang (Deputy Director of the branch), Do Thi Chien, and Tran Nguyet Thu (branch employees) were also convicted of colluding to prolong the process and demanding higher sums of money from citizens, resulting in additional charges of abuse of power.

After a comprehensive review of the case, the People’s Court of Thanh Hoa Province found Nguyen The Hung and Tran Nguyet Thu guilty of bribery and abuse of power during the performance of their official duties.

Le Huy Hoang and Do Thi Chien were convicted of abuse of power during the performance of their official duties, while Le Thi Oanh, Vu Van Quang, Le Hai Dang, Tran Thi Xuan, Nguyen Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Thi Hien, Le Thi Thuy An, and Pham Thi Trang were found guilty of both bribery and abuse of power.

Trinh Thi Hoa, Cao Thi Thuy Dung, Le Xuan Tuong, and Cao Xuan Hiep were convicted of bribery, in addition to 28 other defendants who were found guilty of bribery.

The specific sentences for each defendant are as follows: Nguyen The Hung was sentenced to 36 months for bribery and 12 months for abuse of power, totaling 48 months in prison.

Tran Nguyet Thu received 24 months for bribery and 12 months for abuse of power, serving a total of 36 months in prison.

Le Huy Hoang was sentenced to 30 months in prison, while Do Thi Chien received 24 months but was given a suspended sentence. Le Thi Oanh and Tran Thi Xuan were each sentenced to 27 months for bribery and 9 months for abuse of power, totaling 36 months.

Vu Van Quang received 27 months for bribery and 15 months for abuse of power, serving a total of 42 months. Le Hai Dang and Nguyen Ngoc Anh were each sentenced to 27 months for bribery and 15 months for abuse of power, totaling 42 months in prison…