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Ho Chi Minh City court opens trial over Agribank lending scandal

The investigation revealed that multiple credit files were incomplete or riddled with inaccurate information, while some pledged assets lacked proper legal standing yet were accepted and grossly overvalued. As a result, the loans became high-risk and largely unrecoverable, leading to losses surpassing 1 trillion VND.

Defendants at the court (Photo: VNA)
Defendants at the court (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) - The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on April 17 opened a first-instance trial against Nguyen The Binh and co-defendants over lending violations that inflicted losses of more than 1 trillion VND (38.4 million USD) on the state budget.

According to the indictment from the municipal People’s Procuracy, the case stems from activities between 2007 and 2010 at an Agribank branch in Ho Chi Minh City. The defendants allegedly exploited their positions and loopholes in appraisal and approval processes to legitimise loan applications, inflate collateral values, and approve disbursements in violation of regulations.

Binh, serving as acting general director of Agribank, is accused of abusing his authority by ordering subordinates to issue unlawful loans, allowing companies that failed to meet lending criteria to secure financing. Other defendants face charges for facilitating the scheme or failing to properly appraise and monitor the loans.

The investigation revealed that multiple credit files were incomplete or riddled with inaccurate information, while some pledged assets lacked proper legal standing yet were accepted and grossly overvalued. As a result, the loans became high-risk and largely unrecoverable, leading to losses surpassing 1 trillion VND.

Binh is now wanted by authorities.

The trial is scheduled to run through April 20./.

VNA
#Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court #state budget Ho Chi Minh City
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