The case of Tran Qui Thanh, Chairman of Tan Hiep Phat Group, and his two daughters, Tran Uyen Phuong and Tran Ngoc Bich, were accused by the Ministry of Public Security of appropriating other people’s property, becomes hot again.
Thanh Nien newspaper reported on February 24 that ” Tran Qui Thanh is accused of appropriating more than VND1 trillion.” The news said that the newly announced additional investigation conclusion of the Ministry of Public Security determined that Tran Qui Thanh appropriated an amount of VND1.5 trillion ($40 million) through high-interest loan sharking and forcing the victim to give their property. By this way, he had appropriated many plots of land from many people.
Accordingly, the Police Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security has just concluded an additional investigation into the case of Tran Qui Thanh and his siblings abusing trust and appropriating property. The three defendants appropriated a total amount of more than VND1 trillion, instead of VND767 billion, according to the investigation conclusion of the Ministry of Public Security released in October 2023.
At the same time, the Ministry of Public Security proposed to prosecute Thanh and his siblings for the crime of “Abuse of trust and appropriation of property.”
According to the investigation conclusion of the Ministry of Public Security, Thanh and his daughters took advantage of lending regulations, charging an interest rate of 3% a month (below the level that constitutes a loan shark crime). However, he did not make a contract to mortgage assets, but forced businesses and individuals who borrowed money to make contracts to transfer projects and shares in the project.
Notably, costs for projects and real estate, stated in contracts, are often worth many times lower than the actual value. In addition, Tran Quy Thanh and his children also signed a commitment to resell the property to the borrower, with the condition that principal and interest must be fully paid. But when the borrower had paid in full both principal and interest, Mr. Thanh used what was considered a fraudulent reason to not return the property, such as: violating the contract, so they lost the right to buy it back, had to pay more money or not. allowed to pay in installments, but forced to pay the entire principal…
The investigation conclusion of the Ministry of Public Security determined that from January 2019 to November 2020, Thanh and his siblings committed 4 cases of property appropriation, totaling more than VND1.05 trillion.
Tran Qui Thanh was famous for the “fly” case in Tan Hiep Phat’s soft drink bottle product in 2015. The person who accused Tan Hiep Phat’s “fly-filled” water bottle was Vo Van Minh. Minh was sentenced to 7 years in prison for “property appropriation” due to being caught red-handed for blackmail for the low-quality product.
Minh was caught red-handed by the police while receiving VND500 million from Tan Hiep Phat.
There have been dozens of incidents related to Tan Hiep Phat Company’s beverage products, due to not ensuring hygiene, safety, and consumer health, such as flies and other foreign objects. Tan Hiep Phat also reported to the police to hold people for ransom, due to the Company’s unhygienic products. So, the ransom demander and other victims were also sentenced to prison for the same “crime of property appropriation.”
According to knowledgeable people, there is much evidence to confirm that Tran Qui Thanh has a special relationship with Ho Mau Ngot, former secretary of General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong of the ruling Communist Party of Vietnam.
VietNamnet online newspaper on August 4, 2014 reported that on August 2, 2014, in Ha Nam province, General Secretary Trong visited Number 1 Ha Nam factory, and pressed the button to start the production line of this factory. It is possible that this has the positive influence of Ho Mau Ngot, as suggested by Tran Quy Thanh.
Public opinion sees that the head of the Communist Party of Vietnam, who has a lot of work to do, but gave special favor to Tan Hiep Phat enterprise, is a very unusual thing.
Does that have anything to do with the fact that Tan Hiep Phat has blatantly violated the law and business ethics?
There is an idiom “Don’t fix your shoelaces when passing through a melon field,” General Trong – as the head of the Anti-Corruption Agency, does not know how to avoid it. Then he had to take on the reputation of backing the scandalous “tycoon” Tran Qui Thanh, of Tan Hiep Phat.
Public believes that, perhaps, it is the consequence of the situation “upright injustice, chaos at the bottom.” Not only within the police force, but also in the superstructure of the Vietnamese political apparatus, is in the same general situation.
Recently, according to knowledgeable people, in response to To Lam’s abuse, General Secretary Trong confided to close people that he really does not want To Lam to stay as the police chief.
Meanwhile there are many signs showing that Minister of Public Security To Lam is urgently focusing all efforts, with a plot to remove and replace General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam Nguyen Phu Trong./.
Tra My – Thoibao.de
