Former General Director of Saigon Jewelry Company Limited (SJC) Lê Thúy Hằng (middle in the first row) and other defendants at the HCM City’s People’s Court on September 30. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Former General Director of Saigon Jewellery Company Limited (SJC), Lê Thúy Hằng, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for reportedly manipulating gold processing records.

She has been ordered to pay VNĐ14 billion (US$529,750) in compensation to SJC and VNĐ73 billion ($2.76 million) to the State budget.

After five days of trial, HCM City’s People’s Court on Tuesday handed down verdicts against 16 defendants in the case of embezzlement and abuse of position and power while performing official duties at the State-owned enterprise SJC.

The trial panel ruled that the evidence and testimonies clearly established that the charges against the defendants were accurate, with no wrongful prosecution.

According to the court, while overseeing the processing of 10 tonnes of gold allocated by the State Bank of Việt Nam, Hằng exploited her position by instructing subordinates to falsify reports, inflating the allowable loss rate in gold bar production from 0.00007 chỉ per item to 0.0005 chỉ per item, to appropriate raw gold. Her actions enabled her to misappropriate 95.8 tael of gold, worth over VNĐ8.4 billion ($317,850).

Hằng also ordered subordinates to create fake documents to fabricate losses, masterminding the embezzlement of VNĐ3.2 billion ($121,080) at SJC’s Central Region branch. She further directed staff on a total of 56 occasions to use outside gold to produce 6,255 SJC gold bars illegally, which were then sold for profit.

In addition, she arranged the purchase of more than 11,000 tael of gold from external sources to illicitly produce SJC-branded gold rings, and deliberately withheld part of the State’s gold reserves meant for market stabilisation, selling them later at higher prices.

These schemes caused losses of more than VNĐ95.7 billion ($3.62 million) to State assets, of which Hằng personally profited over VNĐ73.5 billion ($2.76 million).

Taking into account aggravating and mitigating factors, the court sentenced Hằng to 17 years for embezzlement and eight years for abuse of power, to be served consecutively for a total of 25 years.

She was also ordered to pay VNĐ14 billion in compensation to SJC and return VNĐ73 billion to the State.

The remaining defendants received sentences ranging from suspended two-year terms to 22 years and six months in prison, depending on their level of involvement. They were also held jointly liable with Hằng for civil compensation. — VNS