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Illicit export of 1,033 containers of Ilmenite ore was carried out by the defendants in collusion with customs officers to tamper with ore samples in order to complete customs clearance procedures. The value of the illegally exported ore was determined at more than USD 3.8 million (equivalent to over VND 95.9 billion). Illustrative photo. As VnEconomy reported, the Supreme People’s Procuracy has completed indictments charging 28 defendants in the case of illegal titan ore mining worth more than VND 1,508 billion. Notably, a foreign defendant—Huang ShangXia (Hoàng Thượng Hạ, Chinese nationality, an employee of Guangxi Liufeng Mining)—is charged with Smuggling and Violation of accounting regulations causing serious consequences. According to the indictment, Ha has lived in Vietnam since 2009, engaged in mineral trading, and is an employee of Guangxi Liufeng Mining who cooperated in purchasing for two other companies in China. To obtain ore for transfer to China, Ha arranged for Tran Thi Le Vi Van (a freelance trader) to hire Phung Van Thanh, Director of Chau Thanh Company, to sign a contract to purchase 28,000 tons of ore. Chau Thanh Company would also file declarations and complete customs procedures to export Ilmenite to China. Under Appendix 1 of Circular 23/2021/TT-BCT dated 15/12/2021, as amended by Circular 45/2023/TT-BCT dated 29/12/2023 of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, ilmenite ore eligible for export must have TiO2 content of 56% or higher. However, the ore Ha purchased had TiO2 content ranging only from 51–52%, not eligible for export. From this, the defendants sought to legitimize the paperwork by tampering with samples to export. Under the arrangement, Phung Van Thanh hired Do Tien Hai, Director of Công ty TNHH Hưng Hà, to complete the customs procedures. To legitimize the sampling for appraisal, Hoàng Thượng Hạ provided Hai with Ilmenite samples with TiO2 content above 56%. Because the Ilmenite samples in the actual shipments did not meet export standards, Hai proactively contacted Le Văn Hưng—a civil servant at Cat Lái Customs, working in the Export Procedures Team responsible for inspecting goods—to examine the actual goods. Hai proposed Hung use Ilmenite samples that meet export standards (provided by Hai) for appraisal rather than the samples from the actual shipments. Hai agreed to pay Hung 3–9 million dong per container. Hung agreed. In the first instance, when transporting ore into the port, Hai together with Le Phong Nam (Chairman of Hoà Thuận Transport Trading & Investment) and Le Văn Hưng opened containers to take Ilmenite samples into two vials. The samples were not sealed and were taken directly to Hung’s office. Nam gave two vials (TiO2 content above 56% provided by Hai) to Hung for sealing. Hung gave one vial to Nam for appraisal, one vial remained at Hai’s area I. The two vials taken from the container were discarded. After the appraisal results, Hung accepted the appraisal certificate and included it in the customs file to complete clearance. In subsequent instances, Hai agreed to increase the payment to Hung to 6–9 million dong per container to allow tampering with samples. According to the indictment, from January–August 2024, Hai and Nam met Hung 22 times to tamper with appraisal samples. Hung received more than 8.5 billion dong and processed 22 customs declarations for illicit export of 27,997.32 tons of Ilmenite with TiO2 content from 51% to 52% to China. Using this method, the Supreme People’s Procuracy determined that from 2023–2024, the defendants illegally exported 1,033 containers containing 27,997.32 tons of Ilmenite valued at more than USD 3.8 million. Regarding these acts, Ha, Van, Thanh, Nam were indicted for Smuggling. Hai was indicted for Smuggling and Bribery. Hung was indicted for Receiving Bribes. In total, five defendants were also indicted for Tax Evasion, including Nguyen Van Dong (Chairman) and Le Hoang Ngan (General Director of Rang Dong Joint Stock Company). The indictment further states that Nguyen Van Dong directed Le Hoang Ngan to arrange for Nguyen Thi Phuong Thu (Head of the Business Department of Song Bình Mineral Joint Stock Company—part of Rang Dong) to negotiate and sell 38,000 tons of Ilmenite worth VND 132 billion to Tran Thi Le Vi Van. However, the contract and invoice only reflect a value of VND 115.5 billion. The difference of VND 16.5 billion was paid in cash and handed to Dong to evade taxes, causing the state a tax loss of more than VND 3.8 billion. TrTruy tố 28 bị can trong vụ khai thác titan trái phép, trị giá hơn 1.508 tỷ đồng 08:54, 27/03/2026 Truy tố 28 bị can trong vụ khai thác titan trái phép, trị giá hơn 1.508 tỷ đồng (image link) Vụ khai thác titan trái phép: Lập sổ kế toán riêng, gây thiệt hại về thuế hơn 50 tỷ đồng 13:37, 27/03/2026 Khởi tố giám đốc gây ô nhiễm môi trường và để ngoài sổ sách hơn 430 tỷ đồng 08:56, 06/10/2025 Từ khóa: Buôn lậu; khai thác khoáng sản; quặng titan; xuất khẩu trái phép Đọc thêm ...
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