Nguyễn Văn Hậu Chairman and General Director of Phúc Sơn Group Joint Stock Company at a court in July, 2025.— VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Appeals have poured in following the first-instance trial over violations linked to the former Nha Trang Airport project in the central coastal province of Khánh Hòa, with five defendants and hundreds of investors challenging parts of the ruling as the case moves to the appellate stage.

The Military Court of the 5th Military Region said it had received appeals from Hoàng Viết Quang, a former Major General and former Deputy Director of the Operations Department under the Ministry of National Defence, Nguyễn Duy Cường, a former Major General and former Principal of the Air Force Officers’ School, Nguyễn Văn Hậu, Chairman and General Director of Phúc Sơn Group Joint Stock Company, Trần Hữu Định, Director of Nam Á Investment Joint Stock Company and Nguyễn Thị Hằng, Deputy General Director of Phúc Sơn Group Joint Stock Company.

Among them, Hậu appealed aspects of the ruling concerning compensation for the consequences of the case.

Hậu said he acknowledged his wrongdoing and wished to compensate the victims for the damage caused.

At the first-instance hearing, a businessman confirmed that he was negotiating to purchase shares in Hậu’s company and would compensate the victims on Hậu’s behalf.

In his appeal, Hậu requested the court allow him to authorise the businessman to make the payment in cash or provide a bank guarantee certificate.

Meanwhile, Cường asked for a suspended sentence, arguing that the first-instance penalty was too severe.

Quang requested exemption from criminal liability, saying he did not participate in the land handover, that relevant regulations were overlapping and that he had numerous achievements during his service.

The remaining defendants appealed for reduced sentences.

Earlier in January, the court’s trial panel conducted the first-instance hearing.

According to the verdict, during the implementation of the former Nha Trang Airport project, defendants from the Ministry of National Defence and the People’s Committee of Khánh Hòa violated procedures and disregarded the Prime Minister’s directives by handing over more than 62 hectares of defence land to Hậu’s company, causing losses to state assets.

Hậu was found to have been fully aware that the project had not yet met legal requirements but nevertheless issued policies and signed 983 agreements on the process of transferring land-use rights with 683 individuals and organisations, collecting more than VNĐ7 trillion (US$266 million).

Of that amount, nearly VNĐ6 trillion ($228 million) was recorded in the company’s books, while more than VNĐ1 trillion ($38 million) was kept off the books for personal use.

The first-instance court sentenced Hậu to 11 years in prison which, combined with another sentence, brings his total imprisonment to 30 years. He was also ordered to jointly compensate the victims more than VNĐ7 trillion ($266 million).

Nguyễn Duy Cường and Hoàng Viết Quang were each sentenced to two years and six months in prison for violating regulations on land management.

Investors file appeals

The court said hundreds of investors involved in the project also appealed the entire first-instance judgment or the civil portion of the ruling.

The investors asked the court to recognise the validity of their contracts and protect their rights by allowing the agreements to continue to be implemented once the project satisfies legal conditions.

They also urged the court to investigate how the funds they contributed were used for project infrastructure and whether other parties benefited.

In the first-instance ruling, the investors were identified as victims in the proceedings and the court ordered Hậu to compensate them.

However, the investors argued that they are not victims but bona fide third parties in civil transactions.

They said that when signing contracts with Hậu’s company they had full confidence in official documents issued by relevant authorities and were unaware of the violations later uncovered.

They also maintained that their payments to Hậu’s company were intended to provide financial resources for the company to implement the project in the province and that the funds were used to construct infrastructure rather than being misappropriated or disappearing as in cases of fraud.

They further proposed that if Hậu and the company’s shareholders transfer their shares, the acquiring partner must assume and fully perform all obligations until the transfer and delivery of real estate products are completed.

The partner must also demonstrate sufficient capacity and experience to implement the project and provide written commitments regarding responsibilities to investors.

If the civil matters cannot be resolved as proposed, the investors asked the appellate court to annul this part of the judgment and order a reinvestigation and retrial under general procedures. — VNS