Vũ Ngọc Tý at the trial. — Photo courtesy of the Hà Nội People’s Court

HÀ NỘI — Former chairman of the Board of Cirectors cum general director of ATV Gold, Silver and Gemstones Group Joint Stock Company (ATV Company) Vũ Ngọc Tý has been sentenced to 21 years in prison.

The sentence was announced on Wednesday by the Hà Nội People’s Court.

In the first-instance trial, Tý was sentenced to 17 years in prison for “fraudulently appropriating property” (as prescribed in Article 174, Clause 4 of the Penal Code) and four years in prison for “forging seals and documents of agencies and organisations” (as prescribed in Article 341, Clause 3 of the Penal Code).

He received a combined general penalty of 21 years in prison.

Previously, on May 27, 2022, the Thanh Hóa Provincial People’s Court sentenced Tý to three years in prison but granted a suspended sentence for “fraudulently appropriating property”.

On December 30, 2024, the former Ninh Bình Provincial People’s Court sentenced Tý to 17 years in prison for “fraudulently appropriating property” and four years in prison for “forging seals and documents of agencies and organisations”.

The combined general penalty in that case for defendant Tý was also 21 years in prison.

According to the indictment of the Hà Nội People’s Procuracy, ATV Company, with its address in Thanh Hóa City, had Vũ Ngọc Tý, 41, as chairman of the Board of Cirectors cum general director, and he was the legal representative.

This company had a gold, silver and gemstones trading address on Dịch Vọng Hậu Street, Cầu Giấy Ward in Hà Nội and was only granted a certificate of eligibility for producing jewellery and artistic gold items, but was not licensed by the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to trade in buying and selling gold.

However, during the two years 2023 and 2024, to appropriate money from investors, Tý provided false information, introducing his company as meeting the conditions for gold trading and being licensed for management by the SBV.

Tý also introduced that only ATV Company was licensed to accept gold deposits from the people for the purpose of compiling statistics on gold reserves among the population on behalf of the SBV for management, and to pay interest rates to customers according to regulations.

The defendant also provided false information that ATV Company had to deposit statutory capital into the SBV in the amount of VNĐ500 billion (US$19.2 million).

According to Tý’s regulations, customers who wished to deposit gold with ATV Company would transfer money to accounts in the name of this company or transfer into his personal accounts.

With the above methods and tricks, in 2023 and 2024, the CEO of ATV Company misappropriated a total of more than VNĐ12 billion ($462,100) from 12 victims through mobilising capital in the form of signing 19 gold deposit contracts, framework contracts and business contracts.

Tý used more than VNĐ1 billion ($38,500) to pay interest to investors, misappropriated the remaining, and has not yet remedied the consequences.

After receiving money from investors, Tý did not use it to conduct business for profit as committed, but used it to pay salaries to staff, purchase equipment in the company, use later investors’ money to pay earlier ones, and spent it all on personal consumption and repaying personal debts.

In connection with the case, in February 2023, Tý agreed to transfer ownership and change the business registration of ATV Company for Nguyễn Văn Vương, 50, in Hà Nội, to be registered as chairman of the Board of Directors and Phạm Thị Bích Hòa, 46, in Hưng Yên, to be registered as general director.

Afterwards, Tý handed the company seal to Vương to manage.

At that time, Tý was no longer chairman of the Board of Directors of ATV Company and had no functions or duties at this company. However, in order to continue fraudulently appropriating property through the form of gold deposits, Tý hired someone to forge the seal of ATV Company to stamp confirmation on gold deposit contracts and fixed-term gold deposit slips of customers.

The defendant stamped confirmation on six gold deposit contracts and fixed-term gold deposit slips between ATV Company and customers, causing the victims to trust and deposit a total of more than VNĐ4 billion ($153,900), which was then entirely misappropriated by Tý. — VNS