US$ multi-million corruption case brought to trial

It is one of the eight major coruption cases that must be brought to trial before the 12th National Party Congress, slated for early 2016, as per instruction of the Central Steering Committee for Anti-Corruption.

According to the indictment of the Supreme People’s Procuracy, Ho Dang Trung (former Director of Branch 6 of the Vietnam Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development - Agribank), Ho Van Long (former head of the branch’s credit division), and the branch’s credit officers Truong Quoc Bao, Truong Nhat Quang and Nguyen Hoang Quoc Thuy have been charged with violating regulations on lending activities of credit institutions.

Le Thanh Cong (former General Director of the Dong Phuong Knitting Company) and Do Trong Nhan (former Director of the Sieu Mau Viet Company) are being prosecuted for abusing their position and power while performing work duties.

Meanwhile, Duong Thanh Cuong (former General Director of the Tan Phat Investment and Construction Company), Thai Cuong (former Director of the Tan Phat company), Le Son Hung and Pham Hoang Tho (both former Deputy Directors of Thanh Phat company) are accused of swindling and appropriating property, as well as abusing trust to appropriate property.

The indictment states the Dong Phuong Knitting Company contracted the Phuong Nam Company to build a trade centre at No. 10 Au Co Street. The Phuong Nam Company then notified Dong Phuong that it transferred 80% of the stakes for the project construction to the Binh Phat Company.

From October 2010, Duong Thanh Cuong, who did not have sufficient financial strength, set up the Binh Phat, Tan Phat and Thanh Phat companies, hired other people to act as these companies’ directors, and ordered his employees to apply for loans at Agribank’s Branch 6.

The employees and officers of Agribank’s Branch 6 still approved the applications although they knew that Cuong’s companies had only just been established and were yet to have sufficient financial strength, in addition mortgage documents related to the No. 10 Au Co project were invalid, the indictment states.

Ho Dang Trung, former Director of Agribank’s Branch 6, approved credits to the Tan Phat Company worth a total VND170 billion (nearly US$7.63 million), which was beyond his authority. He signed mortgage contracts for unqualified properties, along with a series of rule violations.

He also committed the same violations when approving VND628 billion (US$28.18 million) in loans to the Thanh Phat Company.

The other indicted persons also co-operated with Trung in the reported acts.

The abovementioned companies and Branch 6’s employees and officers caused damages worth more than VND966 billion by September 2012, when the case was prosecuted.

The trial is scheduled to run through until October 30.