Trần Bắc Hà had been requested to appear in court to clarify information related to a VNĐ4.7 trillion (US$214 million) loan that VNCB and Phạm Công Danh’s 12 companies borrowed from BIDV. — Photo vnexpress.net

HCM City – Trần Bắc Hà, former chairman of Việt Nam Bank for Investment and Development’s (BIDV) board of directors had yet to appear in court for the trial yesterday of Phạm Công Danh, ex-chairman of Việt Nam Construction Bank’s (VNCB) board of directors, who has been charged with “deliberately violating State regulations on economic management causing severe consequences”.

Trần Bắc Hà had been requested to appear in court to clarify information related to a VNĐ4.7 trillion (US$214 million) loan that VNCB and Phạm Công Danh’s 12 companies borrowed from BIDV.

However, Hà has had liver cancer since 2012 and on January 7 travelled to Singapore for health care under an arrangement with a doctor. Hà’s stay in Singapore has been confirmed.

A representative of the Supreme People’s Procuracy asked the court to bring Hà to the court as soon as possible after he returns to Việt Nam.

Yesterday, the trial focused on a VNĐ1.7 trillion ($77 million) loan from TPBank taken out by Phạm Công Danh’s 11 companies and the money used to buy shares of the Thiên Thanh Group and Trung Dung company.

According to an indictment issued by the Supreme People’s Procuracy, Phan Thành Mai, ex-general director of VNCB, and Nguyễn Việt Hà, ex-general director of Lộc Việt Fund Management Company, agreed that Việt Hà could use Danh’s companies as collateral to borrow money from TPBank and use the money to buy shares of the Thiên Thanh Group and Trung Dung company.

VNCB guaranteed the loan with a deposit in TPBank. After the 11 companies could not prove the proper usage of the loan, TPBank took back VNCB’s deposit before the loan’s due date for payments.

At the trial, Phan Thành Mai admitted that he had followed Phạm Công Danh’s instructions and had signed all the deposit contracts with TPBank.

He also admitted that he had known it was wrong because it was an indirect way to provide funds from VNCB for the Thiên Thanh Group.

Mai also said that he did not know what Phạm Công Danh did with the money from TPBank.

The corruption case involves the largest amount of money of any previous corruption case in the country.

This is the third trial against Danh, who is serving 30 years in jail for wrongdoings at OceanBank and at VNCB that incurred losses of more than VNĐ9 trillion (US$405 million).

The 51-year-old man, who is ex-chairman of the VNCB Board of Directors and ex-general director of the Thiên Thanh Group, and other defendants are accused of using VNCB’s money as collateral to take out loans totalling more than VNĐ6.1 trillion ($274 million) at TPBank, Sacombank and BIDV.

The borrowed money, however, was for Danh’s personal use, and he did not repay it.

The court trial is scheduled to run until February 7.  — VNS