Trial held for former Dai Tin Bank leaders

HCM City (VNA) – The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on May 2 opened the first trial for Hoang Van Toan, former chairman of the board of directors of Dai Tin (Trust) Bank – predecessor of the Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), Tran Son Nam, former general director of the bank and their accomplices.

Toan, Nam and other former officials of Dai Tin Bank, including Lam Hong Trinh (former vice general director), Ho Trong Thang (former head of the credit management department), Ngo Duc Tri (former vice general director), Tran Thi Hong Phuong (former accounting director), and Pham Thi Quynh Ngan (former head of the legal department), are charged with “violations of regulations on lending in the operation of credit organisations”.

Earlier, in September 2016, the court held a hearing on the Pham Cong Danh, former chairman of the board of the VNCB and his accomplices for causing losses to the tune of more than 9 trillion VND (400 million USD) for the bank. At the same time, the court commenced criminal proceedings against the members of Dai Tin Bank’s board of directors for violating lending regulations in the operation of credit institutions.

On the outset of 2017, Toan was arrested and then relevant officials were in turn prosecuted.

Earlier, Dai Tin Bank was called Rach Kien Agriculture Joint Stock Bank. In June 2010, the bank was allowed to increase its charter capital to 3 trillion VND (132 million USD), 85 percent of which was held by Hua Thi Phan - representative of Phu My shareholders. Phan was also a senior consultant for the bank. Danh was the representative of Thien Thanh shareholders, who bought Dai Tin Bank from Phu My shareholders and then changed the bank’s name into the VNCB.

According to the indictment, before transferring the management right to Danh, Toan and his staff approved the credits of 650 billion VND (28.9 million USD) for Dai Hoang Phuong company and Thinh Quoc company, owned by Danh.

The loans were used to buy a land lot of over 5,000 square metres near Chi Lang stadium in Da Nang city. The lot, which was under the ownership of Danh’s another company, was used as the collateral for the loans.

The bank incurred a loss of more than 470 billion VND (20.9 million USD) because of the two loans. Danh was responsible for compensating for the economic loss, which was announced at the first instance on September 9, 2016 and the second instance on January 24, 2017.-VNA