A court in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City on December 20 issued issued life sentence to former CEO of DongA Bank Tran Phuong Binh and a 17-year jail term to Da Nang's real estate tycoon Phan Van Anh Vu.
Tran Phuong Binh at the court on Dec 20. Photo: VnExpress
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Binh, 59, who was arrested in 2016, was convicted of “deliberately violating state regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences” and “influence peddling”.
He involved in a series of wrongdoings namely paying interest to customers beyond the regulated rates and market manipulation.
Phan Van Anh Vu at the court on December 20. Photo: Vnexpress
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Meanwhile, Vu, 43, was accused of “abusing power to appropriate property”
The indictment showed that in 2013, DongA Bank planned to raise its charter capital from VND5 trillion (US$220 million) to VND6 trillion (US$261 million) despite of several financial issues. To achieve this goal, Binh convinced Vu to buy 60 million shares of the bank for VND600 billion (US$26 million).
To raise cash for the deal, Vu mortgaged several plots of land at the bank to secure a VND400 billion (US$17 million) loan. Binh then asked his subordinates to falsify papers for the remaining VND200 billion (US$8.8 million).
After the bank’s capital hike fell through, Binh asked his staff to transfer VND600 billion (US$25.64 million) plus interest to Vu’s company.
Vu was proved to misappropriate VND200 billion from the bank. He repaid the money to minimize the damage incurred by the bank but denied his wrongdoing as a criminal act but rather a civil offense.
The court also sentenced Nguyen Thi Kim Xuyen, former deputy chief executive officer of DongA Bank, to 30 years behind bars for serving as Binh’s accomplice. The court issued jail sentences to 24 defendants in a three-week trial.
DongA Bank came under the spotlight in 2014 when it posted a pre-tax profit of VND35 billion (US$1.5 million), down 96% from 2013. The bank was placed under special surveillance in August 2015.
Vu was one of the leading property investors in Da Nang. He was arrested in January 2018 after being deported from Singapore, and is already serving an eight-year sentence for “deliberately disclosing state classified information”.
Since his arrest, Vietnam has arrested or opened probes against several senior officials accused of involvement in businesses or schemes controlled by him, including two former mayors of Da Nang, a former deputy mayor of Ho Chi Minh City and two former police deputy ministers.
