On March 19, the Hanoi City People’s Court opened the trial of defendant Do Anh Dung (born in 1961), Chairman of Tan Hoang Minh Trading and Services Limited Liability Company (Tan Hoang Minh Group), and 14 accomplices on the charge of “Fraudulently Misappropriating Assets.” Before entering the questioning session, the Court isolated Mr. Do Anh Dung from his private room.
The defendants in this morning’s court session
In the trial, defendant Do Hoang Viet (son of Do Anh Dung), Deputy General Director of Tan Hoang Minh Group, testified that he managed the finances of Tan Hoang Minh Group. In 2021, the group faced difficulties in mobilizing credit capital, so it allowed three subsidiaries, including Ngoi Sao Viet Company, Soleil Company, and Cung Dien Mua Dong Company, to issue bond to raise capital from the public.
Accordingly, in 2021, due to the outbreak of COVID-19, credit was tightened, and the group had many overdue loans that could not be repaid. Therefore, the group issued bonds to raise capital.
According to Viet’s testimony, at that time, defendant Do Anh Dung proposed issuing bonds to raise capital. After receiving instructions from the chairman, Viet called meetings with subordinates to choose the form of bond issuance.
In court, Tan Hoang Minh’s Deputy General Director admitted that the forged documents, which were used to issue the bonds, were fake and nonexistent. “Contacting the auditors and preparing the plan documents were also fake. At that time, I did not realize the grave consequences it could cause” – Viet testified.
Viet also admitted that at that time, the bonds issued by the three companies were not legally sufficient. When that happened, the defendants and their accomplices created fake plan documents and a “buy-and-sell” cash flow to issue fraudulent bonds.
According to Viet’s testimony, defendant Do Anh Dung knew about creating the forged documents to issue fraudulent bonds. Consequently, the defendant reported this to his father, Chairman of Tan Hoang Minh Group.
When asked by the presiding judge, the defendant admitted that the contents of the indictment presented by the Supreme People’s Procuracy were correct. Up until now, the family and the authorities have fully repaid the damages in the case, which amounted to more than VND 8.6 trillion.
In court, the former employees and staff of the group also admitted their participation in the decision-making meetings of Tan Hoang Minh Group regarding capital mobilization. Accordingly, all defendants admitted to helping create fake plan documents to issue fraudulent bonds.
It is known that before the trial, while in temporary detention, Chairman of Tan Hoang Minh Do Anh Dung confirmed that most of the opinions and comments of the investigative agency and the Supreme People’s Procuracy were accurate and in line with the case’s developments and the defendants’ actions.
Defendant Dung believes that when agreeing to the plan and issuing the bonds, he did not have the intention or purpose of exploiting it to take money from the public. When issuing the bonds, the defendant identified the bondholders as strategic investors. Without them, the defendant’s business plan would be difficult to succeed, so the defendant did not have any intention to deceive the public. Furthermore, the defendant said he always believed in borrowing and repaying. Moreover, at that time, the defendant was developing many projects; if bonds were issued and not repaid on time, it would damage the defendant’s and Tan Hoang Minh Group’s reputation and have a negative impact on the business and sales of all projects, which would cause greater losses.
According to defendant Dung, when working with the judiciary, he understood that although his awareness did not aim to misappropriate assets, his actions were not allowed by law. The defendant genuinely regrets and apologizes for his incomplete awareness, which has led to the consequences today.
Immediately after the case occurred, the defendant submitted a voluntary petition to remedy the consequences by selling assets to get money to repay the investors. During the investigation process, the defendant consistently urged his family, friends, and relatives to find ways to mobilize all resources to completely resolve the damages of the case, which amounted to more than VND 8.643 trillion.
“Defendant Do Anh Dung sincerely apologizes to the investors, his family, close friends, and employees of Tan Hoang Minh Group, who have worked hard, worried, and encountered many difficulties over the past 2 years. The defendant accepts the highest level of responsibility”- Chairman of Tan Hoang Minh expressed.
