On May 2nd, the Hanoi People’s Court announced that it had received an appeal for a reduced sentence from Do Anh Dung, Chairman of Tan Hoang Minh Group. Defendant Do Anh Dung is the only one of the 15 defendants in this case to file an appeal.
Defendant Do Anh Dung was escorted to the first-instance trial |
In his appeal, defendant Do Anh Dung presented mitigating circumstances for himself, stating that the consequences of the case had been fully remedied and that he had made efforts to repay the entire amount of money taken from the victims. The defendant also admitted his guilt, expressed remorse, and asked for leniency from the court.
In addition, the court also received appeals from a number of victims requesting increased sentences for the defendants and asking for interest to be calculated on the amount of money they had been defrauded of.
Previously, after nearly 10 days of trial, on March 27, the Hanoi People’s Court sentenced defendant Do Anh Dung to 8 years in prison; Do Hoang Viet (Dung’s son), Deputy General Director of Tan Hoang Minh, was sentenced to 3 years in prison, both for “fraudulent appropriation of property.” The other defendants received sentences ranging from suspended sentences to 30 months in prison.
According to the first-instance verdict, in June 2021, Tan Hoang Minh had large debts, its projects could not be implemented, and the impact of COVID-19 had caused “financial difficulties.” Defendant Do Anh Dung directed his subordinates at Tan Hoang Minh to issue private corporate bond packages to raise capital.
In order to issue bonds, in addition to the defendants colluding in many illegal acts, signing “fictitious” bond transfer contracts, and running “fictitious” cash flows, they transferred 9 bond lots from the three companies Cung Dien Mua Dong, Soleil, and Ngôi Sao Việt (subsidiaries of Tan Hoang Minh) to Tan Hoang Minh Group to create “illusory” value for the bond packages. This created trust, and using the legal entity and brand of Tan Hoang Minh Group, they raised and misappropriated a total of more than VND 8,643 billion from 6,630 investors.
The trial panel assessed the defendants’ actions as dangerous and having a negative impact on society. Among them, defendant Do Anh Dung played the highest role, directing the entire process of creating bond issuance documents, legitimizing primary bondholders, selling to investors, and then using the money for purposes other than those for which it was issued.
All the defendants were also recognized for mitigating circumstances such as fully remedying the consequences; honestly confessing their guilt and repenting; cooperating with the investigating agency; and having good personal backgrounds. Some defendants met the conditions for a suspended sentence.
In terms of civil matters, the trial panel said that some victims asked Do Anh Dung to pay interest or other expenses; defendant Dung also agreed to pay interest to bond buyers before the time he was indicted.
However, this is a criminal case, so the trial panel had no basis to consider interest or other unrelated damages. Defendant Dung’s statement that he would pay interest was his voluntary act and does not fall within the jurisdiction of this case; if there is a request, it will be resolved in another case.
The first instance court further analyzed that all the defendants in the case should have been ordered to pay joint compensation, but in reality, the money collected was all given to Tan Hoang Minh, which was directed by Do Anh Dung. The other defendants were not involved.
Therefore, the court ordered Do Anh Dung to pay compensation for the entire amount of VND 8,643 billion to the 6,630 victims. The amount of VND 900 million that the other defendants had paid was a mitigating circumstance for them, so the court declared it forfeited.
Nguyen Huong
