Trinh Xuan Thanh, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of PetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC), is led out of the court. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ– The High-Level People’sCourt in Hanoi on June 5 opened a trial to look into the appeals of thedefendants in the asset embezzlement case at PetroVietnam Power Land JSC (PVPLand).
In February 2018, the Hanoi People’s Courtsentenced Trinh Xuan Thanh, former Chairman of the Board of Directors ofPetroVietnam Construction Corporation (PVC), to life imprisonment.
ꩲ Thanh’s accomplices, Dao Duy Phong, formerChairman of PVP Land’s Board of Directors, was given a jail sentence of 16years.
Dinh Manh Thang, former Chairman ofthe Board of Directors of Song Da Oil and Gas Investment and Commerce JSC, gotnine years in prison.
Le Hoa Binh, former Chairman of theBoard of Directors of 1/5 Construction and Services JSC and Minh Ngan JSC, andNguyen Thi Kim Thoa, former chief accountant of 1/5 Construction and ServicesJSC and Minh Ngan JSC were sentenced to eight-year and six-year imprisonments,respectively.
Thai Kieu Huong, former Deputy GeneralDirector of Vietsan Investment JSC, and Huynh Nguyen Quoc Duy, a self-employedtrader, each received a prison sentence of 10 years.
All these defendants were charged with“asset embezzlement” in accordance with Article 278, Clause 4, Count a of the1999 Penal Code (now is Article 353, Clause 4, Count a of the 2015 Penal Code),according to the court.
Six out of the eight defendants lodgedtheir appeals against the first-instance sentences. However, Thanh and Phongthen withdrew their appeals.
Meanwhile, Thang, Huong and Duy askedfor a reduction of their jail terms. Thoa claimed she is innocent in the case.
Phong’s wife, Nguyen Thuy Hoa, who wasinvolved in the case as a person with related interests and obligations, alsolodged an appeal requesting the return of 2 billion VND of the money that herfamily had paid to correct the consequences of the case as the cash is morethan the requested amount.
Between February and mid-April 2010,Thanh, as Chairman of the Board of Directors of PVC, along with Thang, Duy andHuong, with the support of Binh and Thoa instructed Dao Duy Phong and NguyenNgoc Sinh, representatives of PVC’s capital at PVP Land, and Dang Sy Hung, chief of PVP Land’s economicand planning division, to transfer 12.12 million shares of PVP Land atTrans-Pacific Services JSC – the parent company of Vietsan to Minh Ngan JSCwith a price lower than the deposit price.
They appropriated a differential sumof more than 87 billion VND (3.86 million USD).
Of the money, Thanh arrogated 14billion VND, while Thang pocketed 5 billion VND; Phong, 8 billion VND; andSinh, 2 billion VND.
The defendants received a total of 49billion VND from the deal.
ꦫ According to the verdict of thefirst-instance trial, among the defendants, Thanh played the decisive role inthe case, followed by Phong and Sinh.-VNA
