Former Director General of the Dong A Bank Tran Phuong Binh (front, third, left) and other defendants listen to the verdict on December 20 (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) –Former Director General of the Dong A Bank Tran Phuong Binh was sentenced tolife in prison by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on December 20 in thetrial of 26 defendants who were involved in the loss of over 3.6 trillion VND(153.47 million USD) at the bank.
The judging council concludedthat as General Director, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Chairmanof the credit council of the Dong A Bank (DAB), Binh initiated the idea anddirectly instructed his subordinates to arrange for staff members and theirrelatives to conduct illegal activities, causing losses of nearly 3.6 trillionVND to the DAB. Binh himself pocketed more than 2 trillion VND and instructedhis subordinates to disburse more than 1.56 trillion VND in violations ofrules.
The judges gave him 20 years inprison for “deliberately violating the State’s regulations on economicmanagement, causing serious consequences” and life in prison for “abusingposition and power to appropriate assets”, resulting in a combined punishmentof life imprisonment.
An active accomplice of TranPhuong Binh, former Deputy General Director of DAB Tran Thi Kim Xuyen caused lossesof nearly 1.1 trillion VND and appropriated 40 billion VND for personal use.She was given 30 years in prison on two charges of “deliberately violating theState’s regulations on economic management, causing serious consequences” and “abusingposition and power to appropriate assets”.
Phan Van Anh Vu (alias Vu “nhom”),who was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bac Nam 79 Construction JSC),was also an accomplice of Binh in appropriating 203 billion VND of the DAB. Hewas sentenced to 17 years in prison for “abusing position and power toappropriate assets”. In combination with an 8-year sentence for him for “deliberatelydisclosing state secrets” in another case, Vu will have to serve 25 years inprison.
Other defendants were given imprisonmentterms ranging from 2-years suspended sentence to 16 years.
The defendants were also orderto pay compensations to the DAB.
The judging council requestedthat the Investigation Police Agency under the Ministry of Public Security andthe Supreme People’s Procuracy continue to investigate information in TranPhuong Binh’s statement at court, signs of law violations by some officials ofthe DAB, the role and responsibilities of some individuals of the State Bank ofVietnam in failing to detect the wrongdoings at the bank.
The trial of the DAB case began inHo Chi Minh City on November 27.-VNA
VNA
