The former PetroVietnam chairman Dinh La Thang has been ordered to repay VND600bn to PetroVietnam but lawyers claim it would be difficult to recover the money.

Former PetroVietnam chairman Dinh La Thang during a court on March 29

Thang was sentenced 18 years in prison and ordered to pay VND600bn (USD26.44m) to PetroVietnam. Six other offenders were ordered to pay VND200bn. Thang was also ordered to pay VND30bn for causing VND120bn loss at Thai Binh Thermal Power Plant 2 project. Other accomplices must pay VND89bn.

Many people have questioned the success rate of this recovery since none of Thang's assets were seized during the investigation and trial processes. 

According to lawyer Pham Van Phat, demanding repayment is not a compulsory measure for those are accused of “deliberately violating state regulations." However, this is a loophole and an obstacle for the law enforcement agency this late in the process.

Duong Thanh Bieu, former head of the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam said lax management and lack of transparency made it difficult to know the real value of the offenders' assets. It would be a mistake to not order a compensation demand on Thang's assets, considering the scale of the case, Bieu claimed.

Le Quang Tien, head of Hanoi's Department of Civil Judgment Enforcement, said, "If there is no compensation order during the investigation and prosecution processes then there will be numerous difficulties later because the demand for compensation is too high."

In many cases, the seized assets are too small compared to the compensation or there are no assets at all. Only criminal responsibilities have been prioritised until now.

For example, about VND1trn of compensation in Vinashin and Vinalines cases will not be recovered. Former Vinashin chairman Pham Thanh Binh was asked to provide VND500bn (USD23.8m) in compensation and pay VND650m (USD31,000) in court fees but he flat out that he did not have the money.

Last year, former Chairman of Vinalines Duong Chi Dung was ordered to pay VND88.5bn (USD3.87m) and the former Vice Chairman Tran Huu Chien must pay VND38bn but the law enforcement agency concluded that they couldn't find any assets.

From 2008 to 2011, Dinh La Thang instructed and decided on PetroVietnam’s investment in OceanBank to become a shareholder of the bank.

Under his instruction, Vu Khanh Truong, Nguyen Thanh Liem, Nguyen Xuan Thang, Phan Dinh Duc, Nguyen Xuan Son and Ninh Van Quynh carried out three contributions of the group’s capital totalling VND800bn (USD35m) to OceanBank. Due to OceanBank’s poor capability and violations committed by Ha Van Tham, former Chairman of OceanBank’s Board of Directors, the bank suffered serious losses, leading to the loss of the whole VND800bn invested by PetroVietnam when the State Bank of Vietnam took OceanBank into public ownership.

Dtinews