Didn't expect the consequences, Tan Hoang Minh chairman's son says at $349M fraud trial

At their trial Tuesday, Viet, 30, Tan Hoang Minh’s deputy CEO, said he committed the fraud to help out the company without gauging the full extent of the repercussions.

Before the issuances in early 2022 the company was mired in financial difficulties due to the impacts of th Covid-19 pandemic and banks tightening credit, he said.

The firm needed over VND20 trillion to repay its bank loans at the time.

Viet proposed issuing bonds to mobilize capital, a solution that Dung concurred with.

The plan involved using three of the firm’s subsidiaries to issue bonds in a three-step process that included the issuance of bonds, their repurchase by Tan Hoang Minh and their final sale to retail investors.

To meet the requirements for bond issuances, they doctored the firms’ financial reports with the help of two audit firms.

Through this method, the three subsidiaries successfully issued 90 million bonds worth over VND10 trillion, according to the Supreme People's Procuracy of Vietnam.

Viet admitted to committing fraud at the trial and that the bonds were worthless to the investors who bought them.

He said he has since repented and actively tried to remedy the situation by submitting the appropriated money to the Ministry of Public Security, and hoped the court would reduce his sentence.

According to the prosecution, Dung and Viet’s scheme enabled Tan Hoang Minh to raise VND14 trillion from investors.

When the investigation started in April 2022 the duo had used over VND5 trillion to pay back investors.