Former Danang-based business tycoon Phan Van Anh Vu, who is on trial for allegedly causing a hefty loss of over VND203 billion for DongA Commercial Joint Stock Bank (DAB), was allowed to write his declarations in court on December 3, Tien Phong newspaper reported.

Phan Van Anh Vu (in blue shirt) is seen in the courtroom 

There was no precedent for such a decision by a Vietnamese court.

Vu Nhom, the nickname of Phan Van Anh Vu, had earlier petitioned not to make spoken declarations in court and wanted to keep secret his statements. According to the court, his petition is acceptable.

Under the supervision of the police, he took more than 30 minutes to write his declarations, while other defendants were answering lawyers’ questions.

On November 30, Vu pledged that the indictment accusing him of appropriating VND203 billion from DAB was unfair to him. He regarded his deal with DAB’s former general director and vice chairman, Tran Phuong Binh, as a civil relationship.

In court, Binh noted that he felt regret over the concealment of his actions over the last decade, forcing other defendants to get involved in the case, according to Tuoi Tre Online newspaper.

He wanted to send his apologies to the other defendants, especially to Nguyen Duc Vinh, then-head of the treasury at DAB’s headquarters, saying that Vinh had committed serious violations as he had been confident of Binh, his superior. 

Further, Vinh had repeatedly asked Binh to allow him to quit his job, but Binh had refused.

Vinh was later accused of deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, leading to serious consequences.

He was found to have used VND1.16 trillion of the bank to help Binh acquire 74 million shares in the bank, as well as VND494 billion for Binh’s deal with Vu Nhom and VND326 billion for other purposes, in addition to causing losses of VND611 billion from illicit gold exports, among other violations.

Vinh must take responsibility for the bank’s losses of VND3.1 trillion.

Vinh admitted guilt but said he had acted under the direction of Binh and Nguyen Thi Kim Xuyen, former deputy director general of DAB.

Xuyen also said that she regretted her violations, adding that she had only directed Vinh to break State regulations on economic management to appropriate DAB’s assets. She had refused to direct the other defendants to commit violations.

SGT