US green card holder is jailed for 16 seconds

Bids from China In order to kill the supply of major rare earth elements in the world, it is about to hit the wall. Vietnamese entrepreneur Luu Anh Tuan lists our support, a technology that could undermine Beijing’s barriers, a key mineral behind everything from smartphones to missile-guided systems.

Tuan and his family fled Vietnam to escape Beijing’s austerity grip on Hanoi, and the Chinese Communist Party had a significant impact on domestic governance.

In July 2023, he signed a technology transfer agreement seen by Fox News Digital to bring the heavy-duty rare earth technology he used with his Vietnamese company Vietnam Rare Earths Corporation (VTRE) (VTRE) to the Nevada-registered company VTRU Corporation. VTRE also signed a series of memorandums of understanding (MOU) agreements with Western companies.

A source familiar with the Rare Earth industry told Fox News that he was not worried about the anonymous statement about the Rare Earth industry, saying: “He has an insecurity in Vietnam. He is determined to transfer his technology to the United States as soon as possible.”

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At that time, the world was entirely up to Chinese companies to separate their heavy rare earth metals.

“China has been working much of this dominance,” Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Mineral Safety Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an interview.

And companies like U.S. Congress Materials and Australia’s Lynas are developing their own Separation technologyChina still controls up to 90% of rare earth separation and refining capacity and more than half of its mining output.

In October 2023, Tuan, who was then a permanent U.S. resident and green card holder who became a citizen, returned to his office in Hanoi when Vietnamese authorities raided the building and seized all laptops and records. According to Tuan’s U.S. business partner Richard Dunham, 17 employees were arrested, except for one, all employees, Do Hanh Huong, Tuan’s sister and chief operating officer, have since been released.

The arrest comes shortly after Joe Biden visited Vietnam and signed a cooperation agreement on rare earth minerals.

Disturbing reports show that China controls 80% of battery materials is crucial to U.S. defense equipment.

In December, China banned the extraction and separation of rare earths, another effort by the industry to keep it monopolize in the market.

“When China imposes these restrictions, it does make countries like the United States and Australia aware that they don’t even have the technical expertise,” Bascalan said.

“This process itself is just a labor-intensive and very toxic process,” said Josh Birenbaum, a mineral expert at the Democratic Defense Foundation, who has exacerbated the market through state subsidies and loose environmental issues.

Although there is a major rare earth mine in the United States, the Mountain Pass for MP Material, the company has exported these rare earths to China for separation until this year. The subsequent trade war and export control prompted the United States to store its rare earths until the separation capacity expanded at home.

Tuan was accused of conducting VAT revenue on trading rare earths while operating a mine in Yen Bai, a northern Vietnam province, while trading rare earths with Duong Group in Thailand.

Exotic ore (Getty Image)

VTRE worked with Australian mining companies Australia Strategic Materials and Blackstone Minerals Ltd. Tuan and Dunham, and also met with Nevada officials and the Department of Energy to discuss plans to bring separation technology to the United States through VTRE. Dunham said both were “passionate” about the proposal, which ultimately led to the signing of the transfer agreement.

When Vietnam was preparing to auction the Dongbao Mine, the arrest also came. According to Dunham, VTRE is the only qualified bidder with the support of Western partners.

This year, Toon pleaded guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. He will fine him $10 million for 16 years, but his advocates say he is “coerced.” Huang was sentenced to six years in prison.

“We believe the charges were manipulated, and they were established by Vietnamese state actors who have made readjustment with China,” Dunham said. “He was tortured to obtain a guilty plea.”

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Fox News Digital cannot independently verify this claim. The State Council has recorded credible reports of arbitrary arrests, torture and inhumane treatment by the authorities, affecting political detainees and other detainees. Medical neglect and forced confessions are frequently reported.

Thun’s advocates say the company that he bought the ore from Thailand’s Thai Duong refused to invoice at the actual interest rate paid by VTRE for the ore. It only provides invoices, claiming that it sells ore at a lower price, thus reducing its taxable income.

According to Dunham, Thai Duong refused to issue invoices that reflect the actual selling price of VTRE, allegedly to avoid environmental, natural resources and corporate income taxes, and these obligations fell on Thai Duong rather than Tuan.

Tuan faces the choice: accept low-interest invoices and use his own money to make up for tax differences, or allow his state-funded mineral projects, and then, according to Dunham, his business collapses again.

Despite Duane’s conviction on criminal charges, Dunham said the violation of accounting regulations lacked evidence of criminal intent.

“Even if he committed an accounting problem, it wasn’t what they were trying to do to be responsible for the crime. In Vietnam This type of sentencing has been problematic. This is completely unheard of. Usually, you pay a fine, that’s it. ”

“He is the only rare earth company outside China that has a fully integrated rare earth company from mining to metallization; in other words, from digging it from the ground to the manufacturing of magnets.”

China ruled the global rare earth market. (Reuters)

Tuan was also convicted of suspected smuggling rare earth materials, but customs documents show that under Tax Code 2846, there were 63 removals of heavy rare earth oxide mixtures, which correspond to rare earth compounds. According to Dunham, the court mistakenly believed that they were illegal under the export classification of Tax Code 2530 (raw ore).

The Vietnamese Ministry of Public Safety investigation concluded that customs officials who signed 63 export statements verified Tuan’s compliance.

Since then, China’s repression has accelerated. Mineral experts have been ordered to surrender their passports to prevent them from sharing any technology abroad. Beijing has strengthened control over rare earth exports, causing major problems within the U.S. defense industry. Although China allows them to move again during trade negotiations with the Trump administration, they are still banned for defense purposes.

According to Dunham, VTRE developed the technology, which produces 95% of rare rare earth oxides from xenogenes, monazite and ion absorption clay through a solvent extraction system. This technology is capable of processing a variety of ore types and recycling NDFEB magnets.

According to Tuan’s advocates, the U.S. government’s request for aid is not fruitful.

Tuan is essentially isolated from his family and attorneys. He has seen family members about five times since he was arrested two years ago.

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“We are deeply concerned about his physical and mental health,” the source said. “He is mentally resilient. He continues to believe that the truth will eventually be revealed.”

Fox News Digital has contacted the White House, the State Department, the Chinese Embassy and the Vietnamese Embassy.