 |
From left to right: Tran Qui Thanh, Tran Uyen Phuong, and Tran Ngoc Bich |
During the process of investigation, verification, and settlement of applications filed by citizens in HCMC and Dong Nai Province, the Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security (C01) found that Tran Qui Thanh, Chairman cum General Director of Tan Hiep Trading and Service Co., Ltd., along with his daughters Tran Uyen Phuong and Tran Ngoc Bich, and some other individuals, committed several crimes, including "Fraudulent appropriation of property," "Abusing trust to appropriate property," "Tax evasion," and "Property appropriation." The incidents were related to high-value real estate projects in Dong Nai Province and HCMC that occurred from November 2020.
Loansharking
A criminal denunciation sent to the leadership of the Ministry of Public Security alleged that on December 8, 2017, Phu Thuan Loi Company (now known as Kim Oanh Dong Nai Company) signed a principal contract with Pham Hoang Minh, Ho Thi Diem Trang, and Minh Thanh Construction and Trading Company Limited to receive the transfer of 100 percent shares of Minh Thanh Real Estate Company (Minh Thanh Company), which was the investor of a service residential area in An Phuoc Commune, Long Thanh District, Dong Nai Province (also known as the Minh Thanh project) covering 56.7 hectares. The total transfer value was VND530 billion.
On October 21, 2019, an appendix was signed to adjust the implementation schedule of the agreement. As per the agreement, Minh, Trang, and Minh Thanh Construction Company transferred 50 percent of the shares of Minh Thanh Company to Kim Oanh Company, who paid VND265 billion as of October 21, 2019. However, despite receiving the payment, Mr. Minh and Mrs. Trang did not fulfill their obligation to hand over the land to Kim Oanh Company as agreed.
At the time, due to disputes over some large projects, accessing large capital from the bank was difficult. Dang Thi Kim Oanh, Chairwoman of Kim Oanh Company (through a broker introduced by Tan Hiep Phat) sought to approach Tran Qui Thanh and pawned the Minh Thanh project to borrow VND350 billion with an interest rate of 3 percent per month or 36 percent per year. She also paid an additional VND115 billion to Minh and Trang to obtain the entire legal documentation for the project.
After receiving VND380 billion, as per the agreement, Minh and Trang were supposed to buy an additional 13ha of land to hand over the total area of 56.7ha to Kim Oanh Company. However, they did not fulfill this obligation by 2020. When the land price increased, they demanded more money from Kim Oanh Company or brought in other partners to ask Kim Oanh Company to sell the land, but Kim Oanh Company did not agree.
To carry out the loan, the parties involved signed fake contracts using the forms of "Deposit" and "Resale Commitment". According to the contracts, Tan Hiep Phat received an interest payment of VND31.5 billion every three months and, in return, confirmed receipt of the deposit. Additionally, Kim Oanh Company, Minh, and Trang were given the option to repurchase 100 percent of the shares of Minh Thanh Company at a changing selling price every three months after adding an exorbitant interest of VND31.5 billion.
Specifically, if the shares were bought before May 13, 2020, the selling price would be VND381.5 billion, and the buyer was required to deposit an amount of VND31.5 billion before February 13, 2020. If they were purchased before August 13, 2020, the selling price would be VND413 billion, and a deposit of VND63 billion was required. Finally, if the shares were bought before November 13, 2020, the selling price would be VND444.5 billion, and the buyer must place a deposit of VND94.5 billion, divided into three installments with VND31.5 billion for each round. The parties also agreed that the resale commitments were an integral part of the transfer contracts.
In reality, this was a scheme to conceal the practice of usury by stipulating the interest rate to be paid in advance for each 3-month cycle in an attempt to evade authorities. According to Kim Oanh Company, they paid a total of VND380 billion to Minh and Trang, with VND265 billion paid directly and VND115 billion paid via Tan Hiep Phat. After paying Minh and Trang, interest, fines, and brokerage fees for Nguyen Hoang Phu (who was selected by Tan Hiep Phat), Kim Oanh Company only received VND89 billion from the VND350 billion loan received from Tan Hiep Phat. Additionally, Tan Hiep Phat did not provide invoices or documents when Kim Oanh Company paid interest, but only issued deposit receipts.
Transforming fake contracts into real ones to seize projects
According to the terms of the resale commitment dated May 28, 2020, Tan Hiep Phat promised to transfer 100 percent of Minh Thanh Company's capital to Kim Oanh Company if the latter could fully pay the principle of VND350 billion before August 13, 2020. On August 12, Kim Oanh Company transferred VND350 billion from Nguyen Thi Anh's account to Tan Hiep Phat, indicating that it was for settling the resale commitment made on May 28. However, Tran Uyen Phuong transferred the money back to Anh's account and refused to return the project to Kim Oanh Company.
Earlier, to obtain a loan of VND350 billion, Tan Hiep Phat Company required Kim Oanh Company to liquidate the contracts signed with Minh and Trang in 2017 and, at the same time, sign a contract transferring 100 percent of the capital of Minh Thanh Company to Tan Hiep Phat.
Kim Oanh Company has presented additional evidence to the authorities regarding the cash flow between the involved parties. This evidence proves that the company and the group, consisting of Minh, Trang, and Tan Hiep Phat, did not engage in the purchase or sale of shares or project transfers but rather borrowed and lent money. Although both loans were secured with 100 percent of the shares or the entire project, Tan Hiep Phat, Minh, and Trang did not sign loan contracts. Instead, they coerced the borrower to sign share transfer agreements, deposits, and resale commitments to conceal their usury behavior, evade the law, and entrap the debtor to take over the project.
Kim Oanh Company has accused the leader of Tan Hiep Phat Group of another loan scam involving the transfer of the Nhon Thanh project in Dong Nai for VND150 billion. Similarly, a resale commitment was written, and the borrower paid interest at a rate of 3 percent per month every three months. The borrower had paid interest of VND13.5 billion twice. Despite signing two resale commitments with a transfer price of VND178.5 billion and fully paying the principal, interest, fines, and brokerage fees of VND211.5 billion, Tran Ngoc Bich and her associates did not return the project.
During the investigation, the C01 requested the Property Valuation Council in Dong Nai province to value two land plots belonging to the Minh Thanh project (56.7ha) and the Nhon Thanh project (36ha). The result showed that at the end of 2019, the Minh Thanh project was worth nearly VND600 billion, and the Nhon Thanh project was worth nearly VND577 billion. However, the actual value was much higher as a partner had offered to buy back 100 percent of the shares of Minh Thanh Company for VND1.3 trillion. By the end of 2020, when Thanh denied Kim Oanh's "right to buy back" and refused to perform the "resale commitments," the above assets were valued at roughly VND1.47 trillion.
According to Kim Oanh Company, when pawning the above two projects to borrow VND500 billion, it received only VND27.5 billion after deducting brokerage fees, interest, fines, and principal payment, but it lost two projects whose current value is about VND3 trillion. Kim Oanh Company proposed to the C01 to investigate the crime of "appropriating property" of Tan Hiep Phat, which imposed a fine of VND50 billion on the borrower for forgetting to pay interest one day, and if not agreed, the borrower would lose two projects and be forced to accept.
Tran Qui Thanh and his daughters, who began with a simple beverage business, are now caught up in legal complications due to their involvement in usury activities, with an interest rate of up to 36 percent per year. The investigative authorities need to clarify the sophisticated tactics used in these loan-sharking transactions that circumvent the law and trap debtors in force majeure situations, making it easy for the group to seize control of the projects.
Notably, Kim Oanh Company is not the only victim of these activities. In a previous case involving Thien Thanh Group, the Trial Panel requested the Ministry of Public Security and the Supreme People's Procuracy to consider the criminal responsibility of Tran Qui Thanh, Tran Ngoc Bich, and other accomplices who helped defendant Pham Cong Danh, former Chairman of Construction Bank, cause damage to the bank in the amount of VND5.19 trillion. During the trial, the Procuracy also asked for clarification on the profits earned by Thanh and Bich to collect personal income tax. The Trial Panel agreed with this opinion and decided to separately handle the usury behavior.
