The High-level People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City has upheld charges and sentences for former officials of Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade (Vietinbank) ruled at the first instance trial for their wrongdoings at the bank.

Defendant Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu (wearing glasses) at the appeal court

Accordingly, the court upheld the life imprisonment to Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu and seven years in prison to Vo Anh Tuan on charge of swindling to appropriate 1.085 trillion VND (43.8 million USD) of five companies. Together with his previous sentence, the combined penalty for Tuan is 27 years behind the bar.

The court also kept the first instance trial’s decision on compensation responsibility of Nhu and Tuan.

In the case, Tuan helped Nhu appropriate over 200 billion VND out of the 1.085 trillion VND. Therefore, Nhu was forced to compensate four companies namely Orient Securities Corporation, SaigonBank Berjaya Securities Company, Global Insurance Corporation, An Loc Company while Tuan was asked to compensate over 200 billion VND for Hung Yen Investment JSC.

According to the first instance trial’s verdict announced on February 9, from May to September 2011, Huynh Thi Huyen Nhu, who was then a controller and acting head of the Dien Bien Phu transaction office of the HCM City branch of Vietinbank, persuaded five companies to deposit money in the Nha Be and HCM City branches of Vietinbank. 

She promised them interest rates higher than the ceiling rate regulated by the State.

Nhu took advantage of accounts at Vietinbank, used many tricks and faked seals and documents to appropriate the money of these companies.-VNA