Former bank chairman jailed for 13 years in Vietnam

The HCM City People’s Court Thursday sentenced Huynh Nam Dung to 13 years in prison for abusing power and causing serious losses to the state.

Dung’s accomplices, former MHB general director Nguyen Phuoc Hoa and former general director of Mekong Housing Bank Securities Company (MHBS) Lu Thi Thanh Binh were given 10 and 11 years sentences, respectively.

Three other defendants received between four and six years in prison and 10 others were sentenced to five years’ probation.

According to the indictment, between 2011 and 2014, Dung and Hoa took advantage of their positions to transfer nearly VND5 trillion ($213 million) from the state-owned MHB to MHBS, a securities company that MHB established in December 2006 with 60 per cent ownership. The purpose was to cooperate in investing in government bonds.

However, MHBS deposited over VND3.36 trillion (more than $143 million) in MHB branches and earned VND45 billion ($1.92 million) in interest payments.

In addition, MHBS used more than VND1.5 trillion ($63.84 million) to invest in bonds, of which nearly VND1 trillion ($42.46 million) was used to trade MHB-owned government bonds via middle companies. This action resulted in a loss of nearly VND349 billion ($14.86 million) to MHB.

According to the investigation’s results, Dung earned VND460 million ($20,000) while other defendants also got between VND150 million ($6,400) and VND930 million ($39,800) each.