Both in prison for embezzlement

2 defendants heard the verdict

Investigation results determined: The Chau Phu Branch of the Land Registration Office is a unit under the Provincial Land Registration Office, with the function of receiving, returning results, measuring services; registering, granting certificates of land use rights, house ownership rights and assets attached to land in Chau Phu district according to regulations. The Chau Phu Branch of the Land Registration Office has its own seal, accounting depends on the Provincial Land Registration Office. From March 2017, Trung was appointed as Deputy Director and in September 2020 was appointed to the position of Director, the owner of account number 70210000142430 of the office opened at the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, Bac An Giang Branch - Chau Phu Transaction Office.

Le Minh Phuong was assigned as treasurer, concurrently serving as an officer in charge of returning land records of the Chau Phu Branch Land Registration Office with the following tasks: Managing cash receipts and disbursements at the unit, returning results, issuing value-added tax invoices, collecting fees, charges, and land record services according to administrative procedures from October 29, 2019 to June 15, 2022. In particular, the accountant is responsible for making daily receipts for parties to sign and entering revenue and expenditure data into the cash book according to regulations. Every week, the treasurer brings money to the bank to deposit into the account of the Chau Phu Branch Land Registration Office. Every month, the accountant prepares records and receipts and expenditure documents to settle with the Provincial Land Registration Office and is responsible for the approved documents according to authority. The Provincial Land Registration Office issues invoices and delivers value-added tax invoice books (each invoice has 3 copies) to the Chau Phu Branch Land Registration Office for use. According to the assignment of the leaders of the Chau Phu Branch Registration Office, only the staff who returns the results are allowed to issue VAT invoices and are responsible for issuing invoices when completing the documents to return results to the people and collect money according to regulations. Every day, the staff who returns the results reports to the accountant to grasp the data of issuing value added invoices so that the accountant can prepare settlement documents according to regulations.

However, during their time working at the Chau Phu Branch of the Land Registration Office, Phuong and Trung took advantage of their assigned duties and positions to commit the following crimes: From January 1, 2021 to June 15, 2022, Phuong took advantage of his assigned duties as a treasurer and employee returning land records to use the trick of collecting fees and charges from people in 442 land records, but did not issue invoices or receive fees and charges from people and issue VAT invoices. Then, he went to the management software of the Land Registration Office to cancel the invoices and did not deposit money into the account of the Chau Phu Branch of the Land Registration Office as prescribed to appropriate a total amount of more than 920 million VND.

From May 11, 2016 to June 12, 2022, in his role as Deputy Director and Director of the Chau Phu Branch of the Land Registration Office, Trung directed employees to exempt (not collect) service fees for 76 land-related files of himself and 55 relatives, causing damage to the State budget with a total amount of nearly 95 million VND (including 5 files for which Trung himself paid the results, the amount of more than 2.8 million VND).

After being discovered and inspected, from June 16, 2022 to July 5, 2022, Phuong made 5 payments to the account of the Chau Phu Branch Registration Office of Real Estate Registration, amounting to more than VND 1.1 billion. On July 25, 2022, Trung made a payment to the account of the Chau Phu Branch Registration Office of Real Estate Registration, amounting to more than VND 124 million. On August 12, 2024, Phuong was prosecuted for "Embezzlement of property"; on December 26, 2024, Trung was prosecuted for "Abusing position and power while performing official duties". At the end of the investigation, both were brought to a public first-instance trial by the Provincial People's Court. Before the Trial Panel, the two defendants confessed their crimes. Phuong initially admitted to appropriating money from the Chau Phu Branch Registration Office for medical treatment and personal expenses, but later changed his statement, saying that he kept the money in his personal cabinet and did not appropriate money from the Chau Phu Branch Registration Office. Based on the investigation results, the testimony of the defendant Trung, the testimony of witnesses, people with related rights and obligations, and the collected documents and evidence, Phuong's deceitful statements were only aimed at evading criminal responsibility.

At the end of the trial, the Trial Panel sentenced defendant Phuong to 12 years in prison for the crime of "Embezzlement of property" as prescribed in Point a, Clause 3, Article 353 of the Penal Code, and defendant Trung to 1.5 years in prison for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties" as prescribed in Clause 1, Article 356 of the Penal Code. As for those involved in the case, the investigation process did not have enough grounds to determine that the above people had committed a crime, the investigation agency sent a document to the competent professional management agencies where the individuals worked to consider administrative handling according to regulations.

NGUYEN HUNG

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/cung-vao-tu-vi-tham-o-a422672.html