Five former officials of Đại Tín Bank (Trust Bank) who had been charged with “violating regulations on lending activities of credit institutes” were sentenced to three to seven years in jail by the HCM City People’s Court on Friday.— VNA/VNS Photo

HCM City — Five former officials of Đại Tín Bank (Trust Bank) who had been charged with “violating regulations on lending activities of credit institutes” were sentenced to three to seven years in jail by the HCM City People’s Court on Friday.

The chairman of the board of members of the bank, Hoàng Văn Toàn, got seven years, and the general director Trần Sơn Nam six years.

The former deputy general directors Lâm Hồng Trinh and Ngô Trí Đức, and head of the bank’s Credit Management Department Hồ Trọng Thắng received three years in jail each, while the former director of the bank’s accounting division Trần Thị Hồng Phương and former head of the bank’s legal affairs department Phạm Thị Quỳnh Ngân received a three-year suspended sentence each.

Former deputy general director Đỗ Hoàng Linh has escaped and is wanted by police.

At the trial, the defendants were not asked to compensate for losses because all compensation has been paid by Phạm Công Danh, which had been announced previously in court.

This is the second phase of the trial of Phạm Công Danh, former chairman of the Việt Nam Construction Bank’s board of directors and the former general director of the Thiên Thanh Group.

Prior to 2013, after the State Bank of Việt Nam approved Trust Bank’s restructuring plan, Phạm Công Danh took over the small, debt-ridden bank and renamed it Việt Nam Construction Bank (VNCB).

However, Danh abused his post as chairman of VNCB’s board of directors and chairman of Thiên Thanh Group’s board of members, the court found.

He allowed his staff in the group and the bank to violate rules, which resulted in the Government losing around VNĐ9 trillion ($403.5 million), the largest economic loss caused by corruption in the country’s history. 

According to the indictment, the eight defendants were charged with the responsibility of causing a loss of VNĐ471 billion (US$21 million).

In particular, the three former deputy general directors approved lending of VNĐ650 billion ($29 million) to two companies of Phạm Công Danh, while the other three wrongly assessed lending documents and disbursed the loans.

These eight former Trust Bank senior officials approved credit from two submitted loan applications to borrow VNĐ650 billion from Đại Hoàng Phương Company and Thịnh Quốc Company.

The bank accepted as deposits land-use rights and land-use right certificate for a land lot in a multi-storey commercial and service complex at Đà Nẵng City’s Chi Lăng stadium in Hải Châu District.

However, site clearance and compensation for the lot had not been completed. There was also no investment licence or the approved master plan. 

The bank incurred a loss of more than VNĐ471 billion because of the two loans. — VNS