The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on December 21 handed down sentences to nine defendants related to a financial loss case at a branch of the State-owned Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Agribank).

Pham Van Cu, former director of the Agribank Branch 7.

Accordingly, Pham Van Cu, former director of the Agribank Branch 7, was sentenced to 20 years in prison; Kieu Dinh Tho, former head of the Agribank Branch 7’s Business Plan Division, 16 years; and Do Thi Thu Ha, former deputy head of the divison, nine years, on the charge of “breaching regulations on lending in credit organisations’ activities.”

The court also sentenced Pham Trinh Thang, former chairman of the Board of Directors of the Mai Khoi Limited Company, to life imprisonment; and Duong Thi Kim Luyen, Thang’s wife and former director of the Mai Khoi Company, to 20 years in prison.

The four accomplices - Hoang Van Binh will serve 12 years behind bars; Ngo Thi Thanh Mai, seven years; and Duong Cong Kien and Huynh Truong Huy; both eight years.

Thang, Lyen and the four accomplices were sentenced on the charge of “swindling to appropriate assets.”

According to the court’s indictment, the defendants caused a total loss of more than 600 billion VND (26.7 million USD) to the Agribank Branch 7.

From 2009-2011, Thang and Luyen falsified lending documents, charter capital figure and financial report in order to raise post-tax profit, and created a phony business plan to borrow capital from the bank.

Thang and his wife did not use the borrowing money for business purposes but instead bought many assets, shares and agricultural land for housing projects.

Meanwhile, Cu ordered Tho and Ha to handle the borrowing documents of the Mai Khoi Company even when required papers had not been verified.

After the announcement of the indictment, the court released the decision to commence legal proceedings against the case “giving and receiving bribes.”

The case’s dossier will be sent to the Investigation Agency under the Supreme People’s Procuracy for further investigation.

VNA