Party chief orders speedier Construction Bank corruption probe

Hanoi (VNA) – Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong has asked for the swift completion of investigations over a corruption case in the Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB) so it will be put on trial soon.

In a document issued by the Office of the Party Central Committee on June 30, General Secretary Trong, who is head of the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control, said that the settlement of the case must follow legal regulations and not be influenced by any organisations and individuals to ensure violators cannot escape and justice is done.

He also assigned the deputy head of the steering committee to supervise the investigations and judgments and report the results back to him.

The case involves 36 former VNCB officials, who were accused of “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences”, “violating lending regulations of credit institutions”, and “a lack of responsibility causing serious consequences.”

Investigation results revealed that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) on September 6, 2012 gave a nod to the VNCB’s restructuring project.

Pham Cong Danh, ex-Chairman of the VNCB Board of Directors, Chairman of the Member Board and General Director of Thien Thanh Group, directed his staff to set up files to withdraw 12 trillion VND (528 million USD) from the VNCB for private purposes.

Danh and his accomplices caused total economic losses of over 9 trillion VND (396 million USD) for the VNCB.

Apart from Thien Thanh Group, Danh also established 29 other companies and asked his relatives or acquaintances to act as these companies’ directors and owners of stocks in the VNCB.

Danh, therefore, was charged of “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences” and “violating lending regulations of credit institutions”.

Earlier, the Supreme People’s Court gave sentences of six years in prison to the former bank official for “abusing trust to appropriate property” in line with Article 135 of the 1985 Penal Code.

Under a decision dated March 5, 2015 by SBV Governor Nguyen Van Binh, the SBV has acquired all the equity of the VNCB, with stakes transferred at the price of zero dong per share. The acquisition is compulsory to restore the VNCB's payment abilities in line with the general efforts to create a healthier banking system.

VNCB was established by Trust Bank in May 2013. Trust Bank was operational for 23 years, with charter capital of 3 trillion VND (142.85 million USD). In mid-2014, the SBV appointed new officials to the VNCB after some former top executives at the bank were arrested for allegedly violating state regulations.

The Party General Secretary’s order came following his conclusion at the Central Steering Committee for Corruption Prevention and Control’s meeting on July 18, 2016. In the conclusion, he required efforts to be concentrated on dealing with some extremely important economic and corruption cases that caught the public’s special concerns.-VNA