Tất Thành Cang (first, right) and other defendants in court on Tuesday. —VNA/VNS Photo Thành Chung

HCM CITY— Tất Thành Cang, former vice secretary of HCM City’s Party Committee, is facing a potential jail term of 12 to 14 years for "violating regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness”, should he be found guilty.

The People’s Procuracy of HCM City proposed the sentence on Tuesday at the first-instance trial of the wrongdoing case at Tân Thuận Industrial Promotion Company Ltd (IPC), South Saigon Development JSC (SADECO) and related units.

The procuracy also submitted to sentence Tề Trí Dũng, former general director of IPC, to 20-22 years in prison for “embezzlement of property” and “violations of regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness” under the 2015 Penal Code.

It was also suggested that Hồ Thị Thanh Phúc, former general director of SADECO, is given 19-21 years in prison for “embezzlement of property” and “violations of regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness” under the 2015 Penal Code.

Phạm Văn Thông, former deputy chief of the Office of the HCMC City’s Party Committee, is facing 6-7 years in prison for “violations of regulations on the management and use of State assets, causing losses and wastefulness” under the 2015 Penal Code.

Đỗ Công Hiệp, former chief accountant of SADECO, is facing a sentence of 13-15 years.

According to the indictment, SADECO is a subsidiary of IPC. The IPC's capital contribution ratio at SADECO was 74.8 per cent. On March 26, 2015, IPC auctioned off its contributed capital at SADECO. Eximland Company won the auction with more than 5.2 million shares (accounting for 30.8 per cent of SADECO's charter capital), at VNĐ26,100 per share.

In September 2016, Nguyễn Kim Company bought all of Eximland's shares at SADECO for the price of VNDĐ55,000 per share.

SADECO's charter capital as of October 2016 was VNĐ170 billion ($7.46 million). Of this, IPC's capital accounts for 44 per cent, the capital of the HCM City’s Party Committee accounts for 16.7 per cent, the capital of Nguyễn Kim's group accounts for 30 per cent and the capital of other shareholders account for 8.5 per cent.

According to regulations, when increasing the capital and transferring the right to buy shares of IPC, they must be auctioned.

However, under Cang’s leadership, the defendants sold nine million shares of SADECO at a price of VNĐ40,000 (US$1.75) per share to the Nguyễn Kim company without bidding, causing a loss VNĐ1.103 trillion ($48.3 million) for SADECO in 2016. Of the amount, the violations have caused losses of more than VNĐ669.6 billion (US$29.3 million) to the State’s assets.

In court, the representative of the procuracy said “Cang deliberately avoided his responsibility, failing to show the attitude of repentance, therefore, it should be a strict sentence for him.”

Dũng and their accomplices abused their authority in managing remuneration and rewards at SADECO to illegally spend the money that the company should have paid to the municipal Party Committee’s Office and the IPC. Dũng appropriated more than VNĐ1.7 billion ($74,500).

He has been instructed to pay back the money.

The procuracy also requested sentences from two-year probation to 15 years in prison for 15 other defendants.

The trial, which begins on December 27, is set to be wrapped up on January 10. — VNS