Two brothers, "tycoons of rare orchids," and several former officials are on trial in Thai Nguyen.

On October 9th, the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Court opened the first-instance trial of 33 defendants in the case of illegally exploiting more than 3 million tons of coal at the Minh Tien coal mine in Dai Tu district.

In this case, the two "tycoons of mutated orchids" in Quang Ninh, twin brothers Bui Huu Thanh and Bui Huu Giang (shareholders of Dong Bac Hai Duong Co., Ltd.), were brought to trial for "Violating regulations on resource exploitation" and "Illegal trading of invoices".

Defendant Chau Thi My Linh (born in 1970, Director of Yen Phuoc Joint Stock Company) is being tried for the crime of "Violating regulations on resource exploitation". This businesswoman has been identified as the mastermind.

The defendants Nguyen Thanh Tuan, former Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thai Nguyen province; Nguyen The Giang, former Deputy Director; Cao Sy Linh, specialist in the Mineral Resources Department; and Lai Trung Hieu, Deputy Chief Inspector of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thai Nguyen province, were brought to trial for the crime of "Negligence causing serious consequences".

Defendant Nguyen Ngo Quyet, former Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Thai Nguyen province, along with two subordinates, Do Huy Cuong and Nguyen Van Phong (former Head and Deputy Head of the Environmental Safety and Technology Department), were brought to trial for the crime of "Abusing position and power while performing official duties".

According to the indictment, taking advantage of the fact that Yen Phuoc Joint Stock Company was licensed to exploit minerals at the Minh Tien coal mine, Dong Bac Hai Duong Limited Company, with capital contributed by brothers Bui Huu Thanh and Bui Huu Giang, colluded with Linh to bring in workers and machinery to illegally exploit coal and minerals, exceeding the licensed reserves by many times.

Defendant Chau Thi My Linh has been identified as the mastermind.

Specifically, from June 2018 to August 2021, the defendants extracted a total of more than 3.1 million tons of coal and associated minerals, while the licensed production volume was only over 136,000 tons.

To conceal illegal coal mining activities exceeding the permitted reserves, Chau Thi My Linh and Dong Bac Hai Duong Company fabricated coal mining contracts with a production of 8,000 tons/year; contracts for the purchase and sale of finished products after mining; and numerous invoices and documents to legitimize their declarations and reports to the authorities.

Furthermore, Linh instructed his subordinates to create and sign acceptance reports with Bui Huu Khoa (representative of Dong Bac Hai Duong Company) for the volume of raw coal mined monthly, ranging from only 900 to 1,400 tons, to match the production volume recorded in the fictitious contract and to comply with the permitted annual coal mining quantity.

The investigation determined that the total amount of illicit profits earned by the two groups, Yen Phuoc Company and Dong Bac Hai Duong Company, was over 375 billion VND.

According to the testimony of defendants Bui Huu Thanh, Bui Huu Giang, and their accomplices, in order to legitimize the illegally mined and sold coal, the group purchased 475 value-added tax invoices, with a total value including tax exceeding 1,600 billion VND. The money used to pay for these invoices mainly came from the proceeds of the illegal coal sales.

According to the indictment, several former leaders at the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thai Nguyen province committed numerous violations to facilitate the illegal exploitation of the Minh Tien coal mine. Specifically, during four inspections, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Thai Nguyen province discovered many violations, but corrective actions and penalties were ignored.

In addition, some former leaders of the Department of Industry and Trade of Thai Nguyen province also violated regulations in the assessment, consultation, and signing of permits for the use of industrial explosives exceeding the previously approved volume, "creating conditions" for businesses to obtain industrial explosives for illegal coal mining.

Previously, on September 8th, the Thai Nguyen Provincial People's Court scheduled the trial for today. However, due to the absence of several defense lawyers for the defendants and some individuals with related rights and obligations, the trial was postponed until today. The preliminary trial is expected to last five days.

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