Brian Jeffrey
The Supreme People’s Procuracy has finalized charges against 22 individuals for bribery, misuse of authority while in official positions, and giving bribes linked to significant infractions at the National Center for Judicial Records (NCJR).
Included among the charged are Hoang Quoc Hung (the former Director of NCJR), Luong Nhan Hoa (the previous Deputy Director), and Nguyen Dinh Canh (ex-Deputy Head of the Administration and General Affairs Division), all implicated in accepting bribes.
Between January 2019 and July 2023, Hoang Quoc Hung is alleged to have leveraged his authority, collaborating with his previous driver, Pham Quang Hau, to unlawfully receive over 43 billion VND (approximately USD 1.7 million) in bribes to illicitly process 55,713 judicial record requests.
Hung is accused of taking home over 38 billion VND (around USD 1.5 million), while Hau allegedly received more than 4.1 billion VND (roughly USD 161,000).
Luong Nhan Hoa purportedly accepted upwards of 8.2 billion VND (nearly USD 323,000) between January 2019 and April 2023 for the illegal processing of 10,946 judicial record applications.
It is claimed he transferred over 7.6 billion VND (about USD 299,000) to Hau for Hung, while he kept over 547 million VND (close to USD 21,500) for himself.
Nguyen Dinh Canh is reportedly involved in accepting over 3.5 billion VND (approximately USD 138,000) for dealing with 4,678 improper applications, giving around 3.2 billion VND (about USD 126,000) to Hau and retaining more than 233 million VND (roughly USD 9,000) for his own benefit.
Others implicated include Nguyen Quoc Huy, Director of Phu Tam Legal Consulting Co., Ltd., who is accused of paying Hau over 2.7 billion VND (about USD 106,000) to expedite the unlawful handling of 3,200 applications, allegedly earning a profit of 160 million VND (around USD 6,300).
From January 2019 to July 2023, Nguyen Xuan Tho, a representative for Vicco Law Firm, is said to have offered bribes exceeding 23 billion VND (approximately USD 906,000) to ensure 28,728 applications were processed, reportedly gaining over 2.6 billion VND (about USD 102,000) as a reward.
Nguyen Thi Trang is accused of bribing officials with more than 2.7 billion VND (approximately USD 106,000) to facilitate the illegal processing of 3,430 applications, consequently earning 171 million VND (around USD 6,700).
Several defendants were notaries who misused their authority to forge or endorse documents. This includes notary offices run by Truong Thi Nga and Lai Khanh, which are alleged to have certified over 34,503 fraudulent documents used by Nguyen Xuan Tho to back applications.
The charge for each falsified document was set at 5,000 VND (around USD 0.20). Nga is reported to have earned over 172 million VND (around USD 6,800), retaining 162 million VND (approximately USD 6,300), while Khanh received 10 million VND (about USD 390).
From January 2019 to March 2023, notary Vu Nam and staff member Luong Minh Son were also accused of abusing their positions for personal gain.
Together, they allegedly faked and endorsed over 7,280 documents at Nguyen Lam Notary Office, each charged at 5,000 VND. They reportedly accumulated over 36 million VND (about USD 1,400), divided evenly between them.
