On Thursday, Doan Van Huan, the chairman and CEO of Thai Duong Group, along with his deputy CEO and chief accountant Nguyen Van Chinh, were apprehended due to allegations of breaching regulations pertaining to natural resources mining and accounting, resulting in significant repercussions.
On the same day, officials from the Ministry of Public Security apprehended Dang Tran Chi, the director of Hop Thanh Phat Company, along with his accountant Pham Thi Ha. Additionally, Luu Anh Tuan, the chairman of Vietnam Rare Earth JSC, and his accountant Nguyen Thi Hien were also arrested. These individuals were detained for their involvement in violating accounting regulations pertaining to the trading of rare earth with Thai Duong.
The authorities have discovered that the six individuals were engaged in illicit activities, specifically the unlawful extraction of rare earth and iron ores in the Yen Phu Commune, situated within the Van Yen District of Yen Bai Province in the northern region of Vietnam. In an effort to combat these illegal operations, the police conducted raids at a total of 21 sites dedicated to excavation and trading in Yen Bai, as well as three additional locations. During these operations, law enforcement successfully confiscated a significant haul of approximately 13,700 tons of rare earth and over 1,400 tons of iron ores.
Huan and Chinh managed to amass illicit profits amounting to VND632 billion (equivalent to US$25.77 million) through their involvement in the unauthorized extraction of 11,000 tons of rare earth and 152,000 tons of iron ores.
The pair conspired with two other companies to fabricate VAT documents in the rare earth trade, deliberately omitting over VND28 billion from their records. This deceitful practice resulted in an approximate loss of more than VND7.5 billion in tax evasion for the government.
