The Investigation Police Agency (C03) of the Ministry of Public Security has filed charges against Do Anh Dung, chair of Tan Hoang Minh Group, and detained him and six accomplices for alleged fraudulent appropriation of assets under Article 174 of the 2015 Penal Code with amendments in 2017.

The initial investigation found that from July 2021 to March 2022, Dung and individuals of Tan Hoang Minh Group committed fraud, using three subsidiaries (Ngoi Sao Viet Real Estate Investment Co Ltd; Soleil Investment and Hotel Services JSC; Winter Palace JSC) and relevant companies to carry out nine corporate bond issuance campaigns worth VND10.3 trillion which were contrary to the law.

The bond issuance was done to to mobilize capital, but they did not use the money for business activities to which they had committed.

Lawyer Dang Van Cuong said that, with the charge of swindling to appropriate assets, Dung and accomplices may face the highest penalty for this crime which is imprisonment from 12 to 20 years, or a life sentence.

During the investigation, the police will continue to investigate the purposes of asset appropriation to satisfy the factors that constitute an offense of fraudulent asset appropriation.

Under current law, fraud to appropriate property only constitutes a crime when the subject of the crime has performed deceitful tricks to appropriate an amount of VND2 million or more.

Asset appropriation occurs if the criminal did not intend to pay the money or property back to victims.

In this particular case, in order to accuse the suspects, the investigation agency needs to collect documents and evidence to prove that the suspects did not have the intention to pay back the money they mobilized illegally.

Also according to Cuong, fraudulent appropriation of assets is one of the counts included as a crime of property infringement. 

The typical characteristic of the crime is that offenders use tricks, give false information, and use forged documents, or use other tricks to make victims trust them and give them money or property.

Cuong said the investigation agency is expected to continue to clarify what the suspects have used the money for, where the money is, and the kinds of assets the money was converted to.

The properties originating from the crimes will be seized by the investigation agency. 

Cuong noted that the case shows the Party and State’s strong determination in fighting embezzlement and wrongdoings.

The fight is a long and complicated process, but there are no exceptions.

Before the arrest, Dung won an auction bid to buy a land plot in the Thu Thiem Urban Area in HCM City at the record high price of VND2.45 billion per sq m, but he pulled out of the transaction later.