The Hanoi People’s Court on October 26 opened the first-instance hearing for 12 defendants, including eight leaders and employees of the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), who were accused of allegedly causing losses of nearly VND1.7 trillion for the bank.

The defendants appear for their first-instance hearing at
the Hanoi People's Court on October 26. (Photo: VNA)

The accused comprise Tran Luc Lang and Doan Anh Sang, former deputy general directors of BIDV; Kieu Dinh Hoa, former director of BIDV’s Ha Tinh branch; Le Thi Van Anh, former head of the corporate client division at BIDV's Ha Tinh branch; Pham Hong Quang, former head of BIDV’s customer service division; Ngo Duy Chinh, former director of BIDV’s Ha Thanh branch; Nguyen Xuan Giap, former deputy director of the branch and Dang Thanh Nam, an ex-official in charge of customer management at the branch. They were charged with allegedly violating regulations on banking operations and other activities relating to these operations.

Four others who were accused of abusing trust to appropriate assets consist of Tran Anh Quang and Dinh Van Dung, former general directors of Binh Ha Company; Doan Hong Dung, former director of Trung Dung Company and Nguyen Thi Thanh Son, former director of Ha Nam company and a capital contributor of Trung Dung Company.

The hearing is planned to last for 10 days, local media reported.

BIDV former chairman Tran Bac Ha, who was said to be the mastermind, died while undergoing detention after a long illness.

According to the indictment, from 2011 to 2016, taking advantage of his position, Ha directed his subordinates at BIDV and its Ha Tinh and Ha Thanh branches to grant loans to the Binh Ha and Trung Dung companies with incentives that went against the regulations of the State Bank of Vietnam and BIDV although the two companies did not have enough financial capital to be eligible to borrow the loans.

BIDV Ha Tinh disbursed loans worth over VND2.6 trillion to Binh Ha Company and later failed to control the amount and the shareholders of Binh Ha used the money for improper purposes.

By November 2018, the company still owed the bank VND1.2 trillion, including nearly VND800 billion of irrecoverable debts.

Ha also asked the subordinates at BIDV’s Ha Thanh branch to approve 26 loans for Hanoi-based Trung Dung Company, causing damages worth more than VND864 billion.