The first-instance trial of the MobiFone – AVG deal in Hanoi in December 2019

Eleven of the 14 defendants filed appeals, asking for clemency and reduced sentences. Later, two of them withdrew their requests, namely former General Director of MobiFone Cao Duy Hai and former Director of the AMAX investment consultancy and valuation company Vo Van Manh.

Among the nine defendants going to court this time, former Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Bac Son was given life imprisonment for “taking bribes” and 16 years in prison for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”. The total sentence is life imprisonment.

Former Deputy General Directors of MobiFone Ho Tuan and Nguyen Manh Hung received a prison sentence of two and a half years each for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”, according to the first-instance trial’s verdict.

Three defendants did not appeal against their penalties, namely former Minister of Information and Communications Truong Minh Tuan, former head of the ministry’s Department of Enterprise Management Pham Dinh Trong, and former Chairman of the AVG Board of Directors Pham Nhat Vu.

Tuan was sentenced to eight years in prison for “taking bribes” and another six years for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”. The total sentence for him is 14 years behind bars.

Trong received a five-year term for “violating regulations on the management and use of public investment capital, causing serious consequences”. Meanwhile, Vu has to spend three years in jail for “giving bribes”.

The Hanoi People’s Court held the first-instance trial from December 16 to 28 last year.

It found that in 2015, MobiFone, run by the Ministry of Information and Communications, bought 95 percent of AVG’s shares for 8.9 trillion VND (375 million USD), much higher than their actual value. The deal caused a loss of over 6.59 trillion VND (277 million USD) to the State./.

Ex-minister sentenced to life in jail in AVG-MobiFone case

Nguyen Bac Son, who led the Ministry of Information and Communications between 2011 and 2016, has been sentenced to life in prison for accepting a US$3 million bribe in connection with MobiFone's murky TV firm acquisition deal.