Lê Thúy Hằng, former General Director of the Saigon Jewellery Company (SJC). — Photo thanhnien.vn

HÀ NỘI — The Supreme People’s Procuracy has issued an indictment against 16 defendants involved in embezzlement and abuse of power at the Saigon Jewellery Company (SJC).

The accused face the charges of “embezzlement of property” and “abuse of position and power while performing official duties” under Articles 353 and 356 of the Penal Code.

At the centre of the case is Lê Thúy Hằng, former general director of SJC, who has been indicted on both counts. Investigators determined that through a series of fraudulent schemes, Hằng unlawfully gained more than VNĐ71 billion (US$about 2.7 million) while causing losses of over VNĐ107.4 billion to State assets and the SJC.

Hằng is accused of being the mastermind, directing subordinates to inflate the loss rate in processing gold for the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), thereby misappropriating nearly 96 taels of gold. She allegedly ordered false purchase and sale records at the SJC’s Central Region branch to siphon off more than VNĐ3.2 billion, and organised the illegal production and sales of tens of thousands of SJC-branded gold bars and rings causing "severe losses" to the State, according to the indictment.

Four other former managers and staff members at the SJC’s Tân Thuận jewellery company and Central Region branch were also indicted on both charges alongside Hằng. Prosecutors said these defendants were vital links in falsifying records, skimming surplus gold, and running unauthorised production lines.

Another four defendants, including former accountants, a former store manager, and a former cashier at the Central Region branch, face charges of embezzlement for falsifying 139 purchase orders and 200 sales invoices, causing losses of over VNĐ3.2 billion.

Meanwhile, five defendants, among them Nguyễn Thị Huệ, director of the Hải Phòng branch, and several former staff members of the Tân Thuận jewellery company and the Central Region branch, were prosecuted for abuse of power in connection with the illegal production and sale of gold products, causing "particularly severe consequences".

Two additional defendants face separate charges of embezzlement and abuse of power for related acts.

Investigators found that from 2021 to 2024, Hằng directed her subordinates to inflate the loss rate when processing 10 tonnes of SJC-branded gold bars for the SBV, thereby appropriating nearly 96 taels of gold. By falsifying reports and internal regulations, Hằng, along with Deputy Director of the Tân Thuận gold workshop Trần Tấn Phát, director of the workshop Mai Quốc Uy Viễn, warehouse keeper Đoàn Lê Thanh, and Chief Accountant Trần Hiền Phúc, legalised the surplus gold and shared the profits.

Hằng also ordered Director of the Central Region branch Hoàng Lệ Huê, along with employees Nguyễn Thị Lộc, Nguyễn Thị Thu Hiền, Nguyễn Thị Mỹ Liên, and Nguyễn Thị Lộc Mận, to create 139 fake purchase orders and 200 gold sales invoices, creating fake losses to withdraw more than VNĐ3.2 billion from the SJC. This amount was divided among the defendants, of which Hằng received more than VNĐ2.1 billion, and Huệ took nearly VNĐ867 million.

The investigation also revealed that during the process of handling dented gold bars assigned by the SBV, Hằng had 6,255 taels of SJC-branded gold bars illegally manufactured. This resulted in illicit profits of over VNĐ64 billion. At the same time, through collusion with Director of the Hải Phòng branch Nguyễn Thị Huệ, Hằng also produced tens of thousands of illegal gold ring products and sold them to share the profit.

In addition, when selling gold to stabilise prices under the SBV's direction, Hằng also directed her subordinates to create a fake customer list to smuggle out nearly 900 taels of gold, earning hundreds of millions of đồng in profit, the indictment read. — VNS