Signs of fraud by land administration officials in Ngoc Son commune (Thanh Chuong district)

Land title brokers operating under the guise of land administration.

Lam Thang Hamlet,Ngoc Son communeThis is one of the residential areas where households placed their trust and money in land registry official Hoang Xuan Thanh in the hope of obtaining land use right certificates. Mr. Nguyen Canh Huong is one such household. Mr. Huong recounted that in early 2018, he asked a land registry official named Khanh to survey his newly purchased garden plot and prepare the application for a land use right certificate for his son and daughter-in-law (named NCT and KTL). After the surveying was completed, the land registry official was transferred, and Mr. Hoang Xuan Thanh replaced Mr. Khanh.

Mr. Nguyen Canh Huong speaks with a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper. Photo: Nhat Lan

Because he had some family connection on his mother's side with Hoang Xuan Thanh, Mr. Huong went to meet him. “At that time, Thanh had been in Ngoc Son commune for about a month. We went to the town together to drink, and when I told him about my situation, Thanh said he would help,” Mr. Huong recounted. After being prompted, he gave Thanh 20 million dong as “an advance payment to help me get things done quickly.” When handing over the money, because “we had some family connection,” Mr. Huong didn't create a receipt but only recorded their conversation on his phone.

Over the past four years, when Thanh failed to deliver the land use certificate, Mr. Huong repeatedly urged him, even going so far as to say, "If it weren't for our family relationship, I wouldn't let this go." But each time, Thanh would express understanding and say that the application had already been submitted to the District Land Registration Office branch and would be completed in just a few more months.

“Getting a land title for my plot of land was difficult because I had to change its land use purpose from garden land to residential land. So when I heard Thanh say that, I believed him. I never expected this to happen. I have already filed a report with the district police…” – Mr. Nguyen Canh Huong said.

Also in Lam Thang hamlet, Mr. D.'s family bought land from the cooperative in 1995. At that time, the cooperative sold land to many people, but only a few were able to obtain land ownership certificates. Mr. D., admitting his lack of knowledge, raised the issue with the land registry officer. He had previously sought help from the old land registry officer but was unsuccessful. When Hoang Xuan Thanh returned to Ngoc Son commune, Mr. D. approached him again. Regarding their relationship, according to Mr. D., they agreed to "give it all to Mr. Thanh." He said: "Mr. Thanh said he wasn't a 'broker,' but he had to pay taxes to the higher authorities. I don't know the exact amount of the taxes, but since I paid them, I would receive a receipt, so for now, I gave him an 'advance'..." When asked how much he gave Mr. Thanh as an "advance," he replied: "Twenty million dong..." When he didn't receive the land ownership certificate, did he ask for a refund? "It's happened many times. Every time he says it'll be ready in a few months..." – Mr. D replied.

Lam Thang hamlet, Ngoc Son commune, is an area where many households have "advance" money to pay land use right certificates to commune land cadastral officer Hoang Xuan Thanh. Photo: Nhat Lan

During our conversation with Mr. Nguyen Canh Huong and Mr. D., we asked them the same question: "In Lam Thang hamlet, are there many households who have 'outsourced' the entire process of obtaining land ownership certificates to Mr. Hoang Xuan Thanh?" Both answered similarly, stating that many households had given Mr. Thanh "advance payments" ranging from 15 to 20 million VND. Mr. D. added: "When I went to the commune office to write my application, someone sitting next to me even gave Mr. Thanh an 'advance payment' of 80 million VND. And it wasn't just ordinary people like me; even a recently retired commune official gave money to Mr. Thanh to process the land ownership certificates…!"

There have been numerous complaints and petitions.

In Ngoc Son commune, the Chairman of the People's Committee, Thai Van An, is the key leader who knows the most about land cadastral officer Hoang Xuan Thanh. Mr. Thai Van An stated that in November 2018, Mr. Hoang Xuan Thanh was transferred from Thanh Long commune to work as a land cadastral officer in Ngoc Son commune.

About a month after his return, Mr. Thanh received a complaint from two residents, Mr. Anh and Ms. Tiu. The complaint stated that Mr. Hoang Xuan Thanh had taken 10 million dong from them 10 years prior. Following this, the commune held a meeting. Ultimately, Mr. Thanh was forced to return the money to Mr. Anh and Ms. Tiu. At that time, the two residents argued that the 10 million dong they had given Mr. Thanh was at a very high price, and therefore demanded that he repay 200 million dong. Only after the commune mediated did they agree to accept 40 million dong from Mr. Thanh. Because they recognized Mr. Thanh's questionable behavior, the commune reprimanded him and warned him against such actions in Ngoc Son commune.

Mr. Thai Van An, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Son commune, speaks with a reporter from Nghe An Newspaper. Photo: Nhat Lan

Sometime later, there were complaints from the public about Mr. Thanh receiving money from people to process land ownership certificates but failing to do so without returning the money. Therefore, at a meeting of the People's Committee of the commune, the commune leaders requested Mr. Thanh to explain. However, Mr. Thanh asserted that such an incident did not occur. Because the people did not file a complaint, the commune had no basis to investigate. Around October 2022, a resident named Thin submitted a complaint alleging that Mr. Thanh received 14 million VND to process a land ownership certificate. Therefore, the People's Committee of the commune forwarded the complaint to the commune police for handling. Subsequently, Mr. Thanh was forced to return the 14 million VND. Recognizing that Mr. Thanh was indeed problematic, the People's Committee of the commune warned that if he continued to re-offend, he would be dealt with according to the law.

In early December 2022, when the district was implementing a plan to transfer and rotate land administration and accounting officials, Mr. Thanh received notification of his transfer to another area. To ensure the rights of the people, the commune announced Mr. Thanh's transfer at a meeting of voters and also informed the entire commune so that any residents with problems could resolve them before Mr. Thanh's transfer.

A few days later, six households filed complaints alleging that Mr. Thanh had received 75 million VND from them. Upon receiving the complaints, the commune instructed Mr. Thanh to return the money to the six households by December 26, 2022; if he failed to return the money by this deadline, he would be held legally responsible.

On December 17, 2022, the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Son Commune, Thai Van An, attended a meeting of the District People's Council. During the meeting, Mr. An was questioned by a delegate about the misconduct of land management official Hoang Xuan Thanh. Following this information, the Chairman of the District People's Committee, Trinh Van Nha, instructed the District Police Chief to monitor the situation in Ngoc Son Commune. On December 22, 2022, the District Police and representatives from the Procuratorate detained Mr. Hoang Xuan Thanh, searched his office and home, and sealed relevant documents.

“Regarding his work in Ngoc Son, Mr. Thanh failed to complete his duties for two years. The commune has also educated and warned him many times. The Party Secretary, the Chairman, the Head of the Commune Police… have all summoned him to their private offices for discussions and reminders. Therefore, the outcome for Mr. Thanh today is well-deserved…” - said Mr. Thai Van An, Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Son Commune.

Signs of fraud

Because in our conversation with Mr. Nguyen Canh Huong, he believed that Hoang Xuan Thanh had submitted the application to the district branch of the Land Use Rights Registration Office. Therefore, at the office of Mr. Nguyen Dinh Huong - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ngoc Son commune, we contacted the Thanh Chuong district branch of the Land Use Rights Registration Office by phone to verify.

The office was asked whether it currently holds the registration file for the issuance of a land use right certificate for Mr. Nguyen Canh Huong, registered under the names of Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy and Ms. Nguyen Quang Huy, residing in Lam Thang hamlet, Ngoc Son commune. Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy, Director of the office, replied: “The office only keeps records of cases where land use right certificates have already been issued. For invalid or erroneous files requiring supplementation, the office provides guidance and returns the files according to regulations; we do not retain them.”

The office building of Ngoc Son commune. Photo: Nhat Lan

The request was then made to Director Nguyen Quang Huy to review and check whether the Office had ever received applications for land use right certificates registered under the names of NCT and KTL residing in Lam Thang hamlet, Ngoc Son commune. After about 10 minutes, Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy informed: "I have checked, and the Office has never received applications from these two individuals."

We put the conversation with Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy – Director of the Thanh Chuong District Land Registration Office branch – on speakerphone. Listening along, Mr. Nguyen Canh Huong acknowledged that he had been deceived by land registry official Hoang Xuan Thanh for the past four years!

Nhat Lan