Former CEO of DongA Bank Trần Phương Bình on trial in 2020. — VNA/VNS Photo Nguyễn Thành Chung

HÀ NỘI — Trần Phương Bình, the former CEO of Đông Á Joint Stock Commercial Bank (DongA Bank), passed away on June 18 while serving a life sentence for multiple wrongdoings during his tenure at the bank.

Bình was born in 1959 in the northern city of Hải Phòng. Before getting arrested, he resided at Trần Não Street, Bình An Ward, District 2, HCM City.

He was convicted in a series of five trials for various crimes, including violating lending regulations and causing losses of about VNĐ13 trillion (US$513 million) to the bank.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the convicted crimes.

Bình's death comes just months after he was hospitalised due to poor health following his fifth trial in March 2024. He was unable to attend the sentencing hearing for that trial, in which he was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating lending regulations.

Bình served as the Director-General of Đông Á since 1998, and the bank was a well-performing one in retail and card services.

The downfall began in the late 2000s when he and his accomplices at the bank aggressively expanded into the real estate sector, leading to a surge in bad loans and ultimately causing the bank to fall under special supervision by the State Bank since August 2015.

He was suspended as CEO in 2015 accordingly and arrested shortly thereafter. — VNS