Hanoi (VNA) – The Investigation Police Agency under theMinistry of Public Security said on December 27 that it has started criminalproceedings against 10 defendants, including former General Director of theDong A Bank (DAB) Tran Phuong Binh and former DAB Deputy General Director NguyenThi Ngoc Van.

Binh and Van, together with eight other defendants, are prosecuted for violatingregulations on banking activities and other activities related to bankingoperations under Article 206 of the Criminal Code 2015.

These are the results of the second phase of the investigation intowrongdoings at the bank.

After receiving the approval from the People’s Supreme Procuracy, onDecember 25, 2018, the agency implemented prosecution decisions and searchwarrants against the 10 defendants. They are also prohibited from leaving theirresidences.

Earlier, Binh was sentenced to life in prison by the Ho ChiMinh City People’s Court on December 20 in the trial of 26 defendants who wereinvolved in the loss of over 3.6 trillion VND (153.47 million USD) at the bank.

The judging councilconcluded that as General Director, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors,and Chairman of the credit council of the Dong A Bank (DAB), Binh initiated theidea and directly instructed his subordinates to arrange for staff members andtheir relatives to conduct illegal activities, causing losses of nearly 3.6trillion VND to the DAB. Binh himself pocketed more than 2 trillion VND andinstructed his subordinates to disburse more than 1.56 trillion VND inviolations of rules.

The judges gave him20 years in prison for “deliberately violating the State’s regulations oneconomic management, causing serious consequences” and life in prison for“abusing position and power to appropriate assets”, resulting in a combinedpunishment of life imprisonment.

An active accompliceof Tran Phuong Binh, former Deputy General Director of DAB Tran Thi Kim Xuyencaused losses of nearly 1.1 trillion VND and appropriated 40 billion VND forpersonal use. She was given 30 years in prison on two charges of “deliberatelyviolating the State’s regulations on economic management, causing seriousconsequences” and “abusing position and power to appropriate assets”.

Phan Van Anh Vu(alias Vu “nhom”), who was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Bac Nam 79Construction JSC), was also an accomplice of Binh in appropriating 203 billionVND of the DAB. He was sentenced to 17 years in prison for “abusing positionand power to appropriate assets”. In combination with an 8-year sentence forhim for “deliberately disclosing state secrets” in another case, Vu will haveto serve 25 years in prison.

Other defendantswere given imprisonment terms ranging from 2-years suspended sentence to 16years. The defendants were also order to pay compensations to the DAB.-VNA