Two former Vice Chairmen of Lao Cai province were arrested
Mr. Nguyen Thanh Duong and Mr. Le Ngoc Hung were arrested on charges related to the case of illegal apatite mining.
On June 23, Mr. Duong, 63 years old, and Mr. Hung, 62 years old, both former Vice Chairmen of Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee, were prosecuted and temporarily detained by the Investigation Police Agency of Lao Cai Provincial Police to investigate the crime.Abuse of position and power while performing official duties.
For the same crime, the authorities also prosecuted Mr. Mai Dinh Dinh, 61 years old, former Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment; Mr. Phan Van Cuong, 60 years old, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade; and Nguyen Van Binh, 62 years old, former member of the Board of Directors of Apatite Vietnam Company Limited. Of these, two were temporarily detained; Mr. Binh was subject to a ban on leaving his place of residence.
This is a new development when Lao Cai Provincial Police expanded the investigation into the case of illegal apatite mining that occurred at Lilama and Apatit Vietnam Company.
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Police examine the scene. Photo:Lao Cai Police
The violations in the case were initially determined to have originated in 2009 when the People's Committee of Lao Cai Province allowed Lilama Company to implement a restaurant and hotel project in Dong Tuyen Commune, Lao Cai City on an area of 3.77 hectares. However, as soon as the land was allocated, the company's leaders illegally exploited apatite to make full use of it, causing losses to the State budget.
In 2017, the Government Inspectorate concluded that the Department of Construction of the province introduced a project site of 3.77 hectares even though it was not in the service land use planning; at the same time, the People's Committee of Lao Cai province allowed the investor to exploit Apatite ore, which was a violation of the Mineral Law.
Previously, the police prosecuted Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Bich (former Chairman of Apatit Vietnam Company) along with Luong Van Na (former Deputy General Director), Cao Van Tham (former Deputy Head of Market Planning Department), Nguyen Manh Thua (Director of Lilama Commercial Construction Company), Nguyen Quang Huy (former General Director of Apatit) and Pham Cao Khiem (Deputy General Director of Apatit) to investigate the same crime.Violation of regulations on research, exploration and exploitation of resources,according to Article 227 of the Penal Code.