The Court of Military Region 5 on January 10 issued first-instance verdicts in a case involving violations of land management regulations, fraud and appropriation of property linked to the former Nha Trang airport in the south central province Khanh Hoa.

Citing the defendants’ conduct, the severity and nature of the offenses, and their personal circumstances, the court convicted the following individuals of violating land management regulations and imposed prison terms as follows: Nguyen Chien Thang, former Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, four years; Le Duc Vinh, former Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, three years and six months; Dao Cong Thien, former Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee, three years and six months; Vo Tan Thai, former Director of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, three years and six months; Hoang Viet Quang, former Maj. Gen. and ex-deputy head of the Ministry of National Defence’s Operations Department, two years and six months; and Nguyen Duy Cuong, former Maj. Gen. and ex-rector of the Air Force Officers’ College, two years and six months.

On separate charges of fraud and appropriation of property, the court sentenced Nguyen Van Hau, former Chairman of Phuc Son Group JSC, to 11 years in prison; Tran Huu Dinh, former Director of Nam A Investment JSC, eight years and six months; and Nguyen Thi Hang, former Deputy CEO of Phuc Son Group, seven years and six months.

The court further ordered defendants Hau, Hang, and Dinh to jointly compensate all victims for the full amount of damage, which totaled more than 7.03 trillion VND (270 million USD).

The case revolved around the handling of the 238-ha former Nha Trang Airport site, a prime coastal plot along Tran Phu street previously managed by the Air Force Officers’ College.

According to the indictment, Thang, Vinh, Thien and Thai, together with officials from the ministry's agencies, handed over land to Phuc Son Group between 2015 and 2024 without the Prime Ministerial's approval. The actions contravened legal procedures, defied directives from the Prime Minister, and went against the coordinated stance of the ministry and Khanh Hoa authorities, leading to the illegal handover of 62.89 ha of defence land to Phuc Son Group and resulting in state losses related to defence land management and use.

Hau was full aware that the defence land at the former airport had not undergone PM-approved restructuring, had not been officially recovered or reallocated, and that the proposed Nha Trang Urban–Commercial–Service–Financial–Tourism Complex lacked an approved 1:500 detailed zoning plan, provincial recognition, on-site handover, or technical infrastructure construction permits.

At that time, Phuc Son Group was not authorised to raise capital, and the project’s offerings were ineligible for transfer to buyers for individual housing construction. Nevertheless, Hau instructed staff to market the project as fully compliant with legal requirements, initiate sales, and sign 983 land-use rights transfer contracts with 683 customers, collecting over 7.03 trillion VND (270 million USD).

In the fraud scheme, Hau was identified as bearing primary responsibility as the mastermind./.