Police officers of Cần Thơ City read the indictment against Võ Xuân Trường, 46, Chairman and CEO of Mekolor JSC. — VNA/VNS Photo

CẦN THƠ — The Investigation Security Agency in the Mekong Delta city of Cần Thơ on Thursday detained Võ Xuân Trường, 46, Chairman and CEO of Mekolor JSC, for “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe upon the interests of the State, and the legitimate rights and interests of organisations and individuals."

The agency searched Trường's residence in HCM City and the company's headquarters in Cần Thơ, seizing documents and other evidence believed to be relevant to the investigation.

According to investigators, Mekolor JSC opened an account at Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank For Industry And Trade (VietinBank)’s branch in Cần Thơ City in 2021. The company later submitted documents claiming that its German partner, Immobilien Partner GmbH, had transferred 10 billion EUR (US$11.54 billion) via Deutsche Bank to the company's account. The documents included an MT103 customer payment message and an MT199 free-format SWIFT message, both dated June 22, 2021.

After verification, VietinBank found no record of the purported transfer and warned the company that the submitted documents showed signs of forgery. Although the bank and relevant agencies had alerted the firm to the possibility of fraud, Mekolor JSC later filed a complaint with the International Court of Arbitration (ICC), alleging that VietinBank and the State Bank of Việt Nam had appropriated and used the 10 billion EUR.

Investigators alleged that Trường, together with several related individuals and organisations, subsequently posted false information on many international websites and social media platforms, seriously affecting the reputation and operations of State agencies and the banking system.

The Cần Thơ Department of Information and Communications had previously imposed an administrative fine on the company for providing and sharing fake, false, and distorted information that harmed the reputation of agencies and organisations as well as the honour and dignity of individuals.

Despite the sanction, Trường continued using the Facebook account "Philip Vo" to post and share content containing false and distorted information that undermined the reputation and honour of agencies, organisations and individuals, and infringed upon their lawful rights and interests..

The case remains under investigation.

About a year ago, Mekolor JSC attracted national attention after proposing to invest in the North–South high-speed railway project.

In a submission to the Government, the company and its partner, Great USA, said they would fully finance the estimated US$100 billion project without using the State budget or seeking government-backed loans, claiming the funding had been secured through financial partners in the US, Europe and Asia.

The proposal drew scrutiny, and online ridicule, as Mekolor, founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cần Thơ, had a registered charter capital of just VNĐ1 billion.— VNA/VNS