Hanoi (VNA) – The Supreme People’s Procuracy has issued an indictment against 16 defendants involved in embezzlement and abuse of power at the Saigon Jewellery Company (SJC).
The accused face the charges of “embezzlement of property” and “abuse of position and power while performing official duties” under Articles 353 and 356 of the Penal Code.
At the centre of the case is Le Thuy Hang, former General Director of SJC, who has been indicted on both counts. Investigators determined that through a series of fraudulent schemes, Hang unlawfully gained more than 71 billion VND (about 2.7 million USD) while causing losses of over 107.4 billion VND to state assets and the SJC.
Hang is accused of being the mastermind, directing subordinates to inflate the loss rate in processing gold for the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), thereby misappropriating nearly 96 taels of gold. She allegedly ordered false purchase and sale records at the SJC’s Central Region branch to siphon off more than 3.2 billion VND, and organised the illegal production and sales of tens of thousands of SJC-branded gold bars and rings causing "severe losses" to the State, according to the indictment.
Four other former managers and staff members at the SJC’s Tan Thuan jewellery company and Central Region branch were also indicted on both charges alongside Hang. Prosecutors said these defendants were vital links in falsifying records, skimming surplus gold, and running unauthorised production lines.
Another four defendants, including former accountants, a former store manager, and a former cashier at the Central Region branch, face charges of embezzlement for falsifying 139 purchase orders and 200 sales invoices, causing losses of over 3.2 billion VND.
Meanwhile, five defendants, among them Nguyen Thi Hue, Director of the Hai Phong branch, and several former staff members of the Tan Thuan jewellery company and the Central Region branch, were prosecuted for abuse of power in connection with the illegal production and sale of gold products, causing "particularly severe consequences".
Two additional defendants face separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of power for related acts.
Investigators found that from 2021 to 2024, Hang directed her subordinates to inflate the loss rate when processing 10 tonnes of SJC-branded gold bars for the SBV, thereby appropriating nearly 96 taels of gold. By falsifying reports and internal regulations, Hang, along with Deputy Director of the Tan Thuan gold workshop Tran Tan Phat, Director of the workshop Mai Quoc Uy Vien, warehouse keeper Doan Le Thanh, and Chief Accountant Tran Hien Phuc, legalised the surplus gold and shared the profits.
Hang also ordered Director of the Central Region branch Hoang Le Hue, along with employees Nguyen Thi Loc, Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, Nguyen Thi My Lien, and Nguyen Thi Loc Man, to create 139 fake purchase orders and 200 gold sales invoices, creating fake losses to withdraw more than 3.2 billion VND from the SJC. This amount was divided among the defendants, of which Hang received more than 2.1 billion VND, and Hue took nearly 867 million VND.
The investigation also revealed that during the process of handling dented gold bars assigned by the SBV, Hang had 6,255 taels of SJC-branded gold bars illegally manufactured. This resulted in illicit profits of over 64 billion VND. At the same time, through collusion with Director of the Hai Phong branch Nguyen Thi Hue, Hang also produced tens of thousands of illegal gold ring products and sold them to share the profit.
In addition, when selling gold to stabilise prices under the SBV's direction, Hang also directed her subordinates to create a fake customer list to smuggle out nearly 900 taels of gold, earning hundreds of millions of VND in profit, the indictment read./.
