On September 17, the An Giang Provincial Police Department announced that it had prosecuted and detained Vu Van Nam (48) and Le Nam Trung (49), while imposing a travel ban on Le Tien Phong (39), all residents of Hanoi, for the crime of "extortion."

Authorities also issued a wanted notice for Tran Tam Diep (41), also from Hanoi, for his alleged involvement in the same case.

The An Giang police are calling on any individuals or businesses who believe they were victims in this case to contact the provincial investigation office to provide information.

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Suspects Le Nam Trung (left) and Vu Van Nam in police custody. Photo: Tien Tam

According to the investigation, around October 2021, Dang Van Linh and Nguyen Van Nguyen, affiliated with LHD Company, were illegally subdividing and selling land plots in Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang Province (now part of the newly established Phu Quoc Special Zone, An Giang Province) through a project called “Phu Quoc Flower Village.”

At that time, Nam was a reporter for the Health and Environment Journal, Phong was with Phap Luat Vietnam (Vietnam Law) newspaper, and Trung and Diep were journalists with VTC Digital Television.

After discussing and agreeing on a plan, Nam met with Nguyen and demanded VND 300 million (around USD 12,300) in exchange for not publishing negative coverage about LHD Company. Nguyen refused.

On December 7, 2021, Diep published a news segment on VTC highlighting the illegal subdivision activities in Phu Quoc and mentioning LHD by name.

Alarmed by the broadcast, Linh traveled to Hanoi to meet with Nam’s group. He handed over VND 500 million (about USD 20,500) and promised each journalist one land plot in the project. Nam, Phong, and Diep later visited LHD’s office to claim the promised land.

In March 2022, Linh’s group again engaged in illegal land subdivision for another project in Phu Quoc. This time, Trung aired a news segment criticizing the new development. Nam contacted Linh once more, demanding payment to suppress further negative coverage.

Linh agreed and transferred VND 400 million (approximately USD 16,400) to Nam, who then passed VND 200 million (USD 8,200) to Trung, as they had agreed.

Tran Tuyen