Defendants at the court. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — The HCM City People's Supreme Court on Tuesday opened an appeals court into the high-profile corruption case involving the Xuyên Việt Oil Company.

The hearing was convened following the appeals of seven defendants.

Among them is Mai Thị Hồng Hạnh, former chairwoman and general director of Xuyên Việt Oil, who was sentenced at the first trial to a total of 30 years in prison for “violating regulations on the management and use of State assets causing loss and waste” and “bribery”.

Another high-profile defendant is Lê Đức Thọ, former Party secretary of Bến Tre Province and previously chairman of VietinBank. He received a combined sentence of 28 years in prison for “receiving bribes” and “abuse of power to influence others for personal gain”.

Five additional defendants are also appealing for reduced sentences.

These include Nguyễn Thị Như Phương, former deputy director of Xuyên Việt Oil and several former officials from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

According to the indictment, during her leadership at Xuyên Việt Oil, Hạnh committed multiple violations in the management of the price stabilisation fund and environmental protection tax collections, resulting in a loss of over VNĐ1.4 billion (approximately US$57 million) in State assets.

Hạnh was found to have diverted company funds for personal use, including issuing unauthorised loans to friends and bribing officials.

She failed to remit environmental protection taxes to the State budget and instead used the funds for her own benefit.

Between 2016 and 2022, in order to secure export-import fuel trading licences, delay tax enforcement actions and obtain favourable credit conditions from banks, Hạnh paid bribes 22 times, totalling over VNĐ31.5 billion (about $1.25 million), to various former high-ranking officials.

The indictment also details how Lê Đức Thọ, during his time at VietinBank and later as Bến Tre's Party Secretary, abused his position to pressure subordinates into granting Xuyên Việt Oil favourable credit terms.

Hạnh also allegedly bribed former Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Đỗ Thắng Hải and other officials to obtain fuel trading licences, despite the company's failure to meet regulatory requirements.

The first-instance court concluded that this is a particularly serious corruption case in the energy sector with far-reaching impacts on both central and local government operations.

The defendants were found guilty of committing especially grave offences involving substantial bribes. VNS