Sentences proposed for defendants involved in Trust Bank case
The HCM City People’s Procuracy proposed sentences for defendants charged with “violating regulations on lending in activities of credit institutions” at Dai Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Trust Bank).
Former Chairman of the Board of Directors Hoang Van Toan (front, left) and former Director General Tran Son Nam (front, right) of the Trust Bank at the trial (Photo: VNA)
HCM City (VNA) – TheHo Chi Minh City People’s Procuracy on May 3 proposed sentences for the defendantscharged with “violating regulations on lending in activities of creditinstitutions” at Dai Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank (Trust Bank), thepredecessor of the Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB).
According to the procuracy’s indictment, in lateDecember 2012, former Chairman of the Board of Directors Hoang Van Toan and membersof the credit council of the Trust Bank verified and approved the lending of370 billion VND (equivalent to 16.2 million USD at present) to Thinh Quoccompany and 280 billion VND (12.3 million USD) to Dai Hoang Phuong company withan interest rate of 15 percent in 12 months to purchase over 5,000 sq.m. ofland at Chi Lang Stadium in Da Nang city. The two companies were owned by PhamCong Danh, former Chairman of the VNCB.
When they considered the credit provision, themembers of the credit council reportedly did not comply with regulations byaccepting loan applications without financial reports and imprecisely assessingclients’ financial strength. In fact, these businesses did not operate andtheir loan applications were fake.
When considering the provision of credit, HoangVan Toan and his inferiors based on the verification certificate of the futureasset whose value was augmented by many times. In fact, the clearance in theland lot at the Chi Lang Stadium hadn’t been finished while there hadn’t beenany certificates or investment activities in this land lot, the indictmentsaid.
Later, the VNCB suffered from a loss of morethan 470 billion VND (20.6 million USD) because of the two loans.
The procuracy blamed the main role andresponsibility in this case on then Chairman Hoang Van Toan and then DirectorGeneral Tran Son Nam of the Trust Bank. It proposed prison terms of between 6-7years for Hoang Van Toan and between 5-6 years for Tran Son Nam.
Other defendants were proposed to receive suspendedimprisonment sentences of three years.
Meanwhile, Pham Cong Danh was proposed to bearresponsibility for compensating for the loss in the case. This compensationresponsibility was ruled in the verdicts of the first-instance trial of the HCMCity People’s Court on September 9, 2016 and the appeal trial of the HCM CityHigh-level People’s Court on January 24, 2017. Therefore, the defendants inthis case were not forced to compensate for the loss.
Pham Cong Danh, ex-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB, present name CB), said before court that all the money involved in the case of “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences” in VNCB was used to serve the bank’s operation, not personal purposes.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on February 7 decided to return the dossier of the case “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences” at the Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB, now Construction Bank – CB), and requested further investigation.
The High-Level People’s Court in Hanoi began to hear the appeals of Ha Van Tham, former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OceanBank), and his accomplices for their wrongdoings at the bank.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court on May 2 opened the first trial for Hoang Van Toan, former chairman of the board of directors of Dai Tin (Trust) Bank – predecessor of the Vietnam Construction Bank (VNCB), Tran Son Nam, former general director of the bank and their accomplices.
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Former Chairman of the Board of Directors Hoang Van Toan (front, left) and former Director General Tran Son Nam (front, right) of the Trust Bank at the trial (Photo: VNA) 
