Dinh La Thang and his accomplices at the court (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – The High-Level People’s Court inHanoi on June 26 upheld the charges and sentences against Dinh La Thang andfive of his accomplices in the case involvingthe National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam)’s contribution of 800 billion VNDto the Ocean Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OceanBank).
Accordingly, Thang, former Chairman of thePetroVietnam Member Council, will serve 18 years in prison for “deliberatelyviolating State regulations on economic management, causing severe consequences”as announced by the Hanoi People’s Court in March 2018.
Together with a jail sentence of 13 yearshanded down by the High-Level People’s Court in Hanoi on May 14, 2018 for hisinvolvement in the case of“asset embezzlement” and “deliberately violating State regulations on economicmanagement, causing severe consequences” at PetroVietnam Construction JSC(PVC), Thang got a total of 30 yearsin jail.
The charges and sentences were alsomaintained for Nguyen Xuan Son, former Deputy General Director of PetroVietnam,Vu Khanh Truong and Nguyen Xuan Thang, both former members of thePetroVietnam Member Council.
In the first-instance trial, Son, Truongand Thang had received prison sentences of 30 months, five years and 22 months,respectively, for “deliberately violating State regulations on economicmanagement, causing severe consequences.”
Nguyen Thanh Liem, also former member ofthe PetroVietnam Member Council, was upheld the penalty of non-custodialre-education for 20 months for the same charge.
Ninh Van Quynh, former chiefaccountant and former head of the department of finance, accounting andauditing of PetroVietnam, will spend 23 years behind bars for “deliberately violatingState regulations on economic management, causing severe consequences” and “abusing positionand power toappropriate property” as decided by the first-instance court.
Only Phan Dinh Duc, former member of thePetroVietnam’s Member Council, had his charge changed into “lacking responsibility causing serious consequences” and got a warning instead of 15-month non-custodial re-education for“deliberately violating State regulations on economic management, causingsevere consequences” given by the first instance court. Duc will also beexempted from civil obligations.
Apart from jail sentences, the court askedDinh La Thang, Ninh Van Quynh and Vu Khanh Truong to compensate 600 billionVND, 100 billion VND and 40 billion VND. Nguyen Xuan Son, Nguyen Xuan Thang andNguyen Thanh Liem, each has to refund 15 billion VND.
In 2008, after failing to establish HongViet Commercial Joint Stock Bank, PetroVietnam decided to invest in OceanBank.
From 2008 to 2011, Dinh La Thang instructed anddecided on PetroVietnam’s investment in OceanBank to become a shareholder ofthe bank.
Under his instruction, Vu Khanh Truong, NguyenThanh Liem, Nguyen Xuan Thang, Phan Dinh Duc, Nguyen Xuan Son and Ninh Van Quynh carried out three contributionsof the group’s capital totaling 800 billion VND to OceanBank.
Due to OceanBank’s poor capability andviolations committed by Ha Van Tham, former Chairman of OceanBank’s Board ofDirectors, the bank suffered serious losses, leading to the loss of the whole800 billion VND invested by PetroVietnam when the State Bank of Vietnam wasforced to buy OceanBank at zero VND.-VNA
VNA
