Coffee King's ex-wife wins land dispute in court

The People’s Court of Kien Giang Province has ruled that the land seizure, which was carried out between 2011 and 2014, violated Vietnam’s Land Laws.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam’s biggest island, is under the jurisdiction of Kien Giang.

The three land lots were bought by Dang Le Nguyen Vu, chairman of coffee giant Trung Nguyen Group, in 2003 when he and Thao were married, which made the lots shared assets between the two.

However, when Phu Quoc authorities seized the land to build public projects, they only informed and compensated Vu.

Vu at the time made complaints to Phu Quoc authorities and proposed that the decisions be annulled. His proposals were rejected.

Thao claimed that she was never informed of Phu Quoc authorities’ decisions during the marriage, which officially ended in 2015 when the two divorced.

She said she only learned about the decisions in August 2020.

She said that although Vu and she are now divorced, they are still financially capable of managing and developing the land lots.

Vu’s representative to the court agreed with all of Thao’s claims and demands.

Although the court of first instance has ruled in Thao’s favor, Phu Quoc authorities and prosecutors can still appeal the decision and bring the case to a higher court.