The retrial was initiated following the appeals for reduced sentences by Mr. Tran Qui Thanh (founder of Tan Hiep Phat Company) and his daughter, Ms. Tran Uyen Phuong, who sought a suspended sentence.
Mr. Tran Qui Thanh and his daughter appealed the first-instance verdict, arguing that the sentences were too harsh, and requested reduced sentences and a suspended sentence.
Additionally, Mr. Tran Qui Thanh filed a supplementary appeal regarding the civil aspect of the case, demanding that the victim, Ms. Dang Thi Kim Oanh, reimburse more than VND 238 billion, instead of the VND 235 billion ruled by the first-instance court.
Previously, in late April 2024, the Ho Chi Minh City High-Level People’s Court sentenced Mr. Tran Qui Thanh to eight years in prison and his daughters, Tran Uyen Phuong and Tran Ngoc Bich, to four and three years in prison, respectively, with Tran Ngoc Bich receiving a suspended sentence.
Regarding the civil aspect, as the victims requested the annulment of the contracts notarized by competent authorities, the refund of the borrowed money from Mr. Tran Qui Thanh and his daughters, and the retrieval of their assets, the Ho Chi Minh City High-Level People’s Court ruled that Ms. Dang Thi Kim Oanh must repay more than VND 235 billion, Mr. Lam Hoang Son VND 115 billion, Mr. Tran Huy Dong VND 78.4 billion, and Mr. Nguyen Van Chung VND 34.7 billion to Mr. Tran Qui Thanh and his daughters to regain their expropriated assets.
According to the first-instance verdict, between 2019 and 2020, through several intermediaries, Mr. Tran Qui Thanh and his daughters lent money to several businesses and individuals. They did not enter into secured loan agreements but instead forced the borrowers to sign project and equity transfer contracts, with the values being significantly lower than the actual worth of the assets.
To establish trust with the victims and disguise the nature of the transactions as loans, Mr. Tran Qui Thanh and his daughters signed “commitments to resell,” legitimized interest payments as deposits for repurchasing projects and real estate, and promised to return the assets upon full repayment of the principal and interest.
Following Mr. Tran Qui Thanh’s instructions, his daughters, Tran Uyen Phuong and Tran Ngoc Bich, received the transferred assets in their names. The group then swiftly proceeded with the procedures to take control and dispose of the assets.
When the borrowers fulfilled their obligations to repay the principal and interest as agreed upon, Mr. Tran Qui Thanh and his daughters refused to honor the agreements, citing various reasons such as the borrowers violating contract terms and forfeiting their rights to repurchase. They also created other obstacles, such as demanding additional payments or insisting on full repayment of the principal instead of allowing partial payments.
Ultimately, between January 2019 and November 2020, Mr. Tran Qui Thanh and his accomplices committed four acts of “abuse of trust to appropriate property” from four victims.
The appropriated assets included: two projects, Minh Thanh and Nhon Thanh, in Dong Nai Province, owned by Ms. Dang Thi Kim Oanh (Chairwoman of Dia Oc Kim Oanh Group); 29 plots of land separated from plot 452 in Binh Tan District, owned by Mr. Nguyen Van Chung; four plots of land in Thu Duc City, owned by Mr. Lam Hoang Son; and two plots of land in Binh Tan District, owned by Mr. Nguyen Huy Dong.
