The trial of the fraud case of misappropriation of assets at Tân Hoàng Minh Group is currently being conducted by the Hanoi People’s Court.
HEAD OF RESPONSIBILITY ACKNOWLEDGES
During the interrogation process, Mr. Đỗ Anh Dũng – former Chairman of the Board of Tan Hoang Minh Group admitted that he was the one who proposed issuing bonds and handed it over to his son, defendant Đỗ Hoàng Việt, Deputy General Director in charge of finance to find capital sources to maintain the business activities and investments of the Group by issuing separate bonds to mobilize capital.
According to the indictment, Mr. Dũng agreed and approved the implementation of the following details: selection of companies (including Ngôi sao Việt Real Estate Investment Co., Ltd, Soleil Hotel Investment and Services Joint Stock Company, Winter Palace Joint Stock Company) under the Tân Hoàng Minh Group to issue, expected value of issuance, collateral assets, interest rates, using TAN HOANG MINH Company to buy primary bonds to establish credibility and brand of Tân Hoàng Minh to sell bonds to investors in order to mobilize their money.
Stating in court, Mr. Dũng said that in 2021, Tân Hoàng Minh’s capital needs were high, and borrowing from banks did not meet the capital needs of the Group. At that time, issuing bonds also became an effective capital mobilization channel for many enterprises. Many enterprises issued bonds worth 1 quadrillion VND.
“I understand the bond channel well because if borrowing from banks, the interest rate is 14-15%, while issuing bonds is about 11-12%. When I asked Việt to issue bonds, I didn’t know the details whether it was a plan or legitimate,” said Mr. Dũng.
When the court asked “Did the defendants run virtual money?”, Mr. Dũng said: “In fact, the 3 companies (Ngôi sao Việt, Soleil, Winter Palace) are all mine, Tan Hoang Minh is also 100% owned by me.”
“All defendants declare that the bond issue plan is just a cover, there is no cooperation; running the virtual money so Tan Hoang Minh can buy them back?”, the court asked again. Former Chairman of Tan Hoang Minh replied: “I think so. If talking about responsibility, I am the highest executive, I am responsible for the wrongdoings. I respect the investigation conclusion and the indictment.”
In response to the question of how the money raised from bond issuance was used, Mr. Đỗ Anh Dũng said he did not know the details, but most of the money was not used for its intended purpose of bond issuance.
According to the former Chairman of Tan Hoang Minh, since the bond issuance, he himself never had the intention of misappropriating the money of the investors. He only wanted to raise money for business, investment, and payment of contractors’ expenses.
The adjudication panel asked the defendant, “Was this way of raising money legal?”. The defendant explained: “At that time, my understanding of bond issuance was not sufficient, now I know that it was wrong.”
According to Mr. Đỗ Anh Dũng’s testimony, after being indicted and arrested, he was only able to see his family twice, but has made great efforts to redress the consequences of the case thanks to his family’s assistance. In more than a year, he has made every effort and has now completely redressed the consequences of the case, even paying back an excess of 1 billion VND. “That amount of money is enough to compensate the victims,” he stated.
INVESTORS DEMAND PRINCIPAL AND INTEREST
In the afternoon of March 19, the court questioned the investors. In this case, the court summoned over 6,000 victims who are investors who bought bonds of Tân Hoàng Minh.
According to the court, the summoning papers provided complete information about the amount of money misappropriated. If any victim finds a discrepancy in the figures, they can express their opinions to the court for resolution.
The court noted that the names of the victims must match the names on the ID cards, passports, or personal identification cards that the victims had provided to Tân Hoàng Minh when buying the bonds. If there are any changes, the victims need to request confirmation for easy compensation. If the victims find any incorrect information, they must report it to the court secretary for correction.
During the presentation at the court, Mr. Nguyễn Tiến C. stated that he had lost both of his eyesight and had saved up over 1 billion VND for buying Tân Hoàng Minh’s bonds. He requested to be refunded the amount.
Ms. Nguyễn Thị Tố N. said that her group consists of 121 people, of which 60% are elderly, 30% are disabled; some of them have not received the money and have had to leave permanently.
On behalf of the group of 121 people, she hopes that the court will resolve the issue so that they can receive the principal amount for bonds they bought from Tân Hoàng Minh at this court, and the remaining interest according to the contract with Tân Hoàng Minh, she hopes the court will take note to help. “There are 6,630 victims here, who are tens of thousands of families. Some families have been broken, their children have to quit studying. We hope the court will resolve the issue for us to receive the principal, interest, and penalty interest. Personally, I have to receive treatment for insomnia and stomach problems, and the damage cannot be quantified,” Ms. N. said.
Ms. Bùi Thị Việt H., who was authorized by her foreign husband to represent her, also expressed her desire to receive the money she had invested in Tân Hoàng Minh’s bonds. Ms. H. cited Article 106 of the Criminal Procedure Code to argue that the money to redress the consequences of the case is also a material evidence that has been temporarily detained but can be handled and returned to the victims.
Ms. Phạm Thị T., who represented a company that spent 254 billion VND to invest in Tân Hoàng Minh’s bonds, also made a request to the defendants and related organizations and individuals to return the principal and interest.
