On September 5th, the People’s Court of Ho Chi Minh City opened an appellate trial and announced the verdicts for the defendants in a case that took place at Saigon Co.op. The trial was held to consider the appeals for reduced sentences from six defendants in the case.
The appellate court found that, although Diep Dung (former Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Trading Cooperatives – Saigon Co.op) did not file an appeal, he had four mitigating circumstances, compensated 17 billion VND, made significant contributions to society, and had no aggravating circumstances. As a result, the court reduced his sentence by two years, from the initial ten years in prison for the crime of “Abuse of Power in Performance of Official Duties.”
Defendant Diep Dung. (Photo: Hoang Tho)
In addition, Ton That Hao (CEO of Dia Oc Dai A Joint Stock Company) and Vo Thanh Trung (CEO of New Urban Development Investment Joint Stock Company) also did not file appeals but were considered by the court and had their sentences reduced by one year and one year and six months, respectively, for the crime of “Abuse of Power in Performance of Official Duties.”
Regarding the six defendants who filed appeals, including Nguyen Thanh Nhan (former General Director of Saigon Co.op), Ho My Hoa (former Financial Director of Saigon Co.op), Tran Trung Liet (former Chief Accountant of Saigon Co.op), Hang Thanh Dan (former Head of Saigon Co.op’s Supervisory Board), Pham Thi Minh Ngoc (former Deputy Head of Saigon Co.op’s Supervisory Board), and Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang (former member of Saigon Co.op’s Supervisory Board), the court acknowledged their limited roles in the crime and the presence of several mitigating circumstances, as well as their efforts in compensating for the damage caused. Consequently, the court partially reduced their sentences, ranging from one year to one year and six months in prison.
According to the case file, in 2016, Saigon Co.op sought approval to acquire the Big C Vietnam supermarket chain, which was granted by the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City. Subsequently, Saigon Co.op’s capital mobilization account received 3,000 billion VND from 56 contributing companies.
From June 2016 to March 2018, defendant Diep Dung, without the approval of Saigon Co.op’s Board of Directors, instructed individuals in the Finance and Accounting Departments to transfer 1,000 billion VND out of the 3,000 billion VND raised for the Big C Vietnam acquisition deal.
He then unilaterally signed investment cooperation contracts with Dia Oc Dai A Joint Stock Company and New Urban Development Investment Joint Stock Company, using the aforementioned 1,000 billion VND.
According to the investment cooperation contracts with these two companies, Saigon Co.op was supposed to receive a fixed profit rate of 7% per annum. However, defendant Dung unilaterally signed a supplementary agreement adjusting the profit rate from 7% to 0%, causing a loss of more than 115 billion VND for Saigon Co.op, including nearly 30 billion VND in tax losses.
Furthermore, the investigating agency recommended considering mitigating circumstances for all defendants in the case due to their cooperative attitude during the investigation, their confession and voluntary partial compensation for the damage caused, their good personal backgrounds, and their excellent achievements in their previous work…
Previously, on December 29, 2013, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court sentenced defendant Diep Dung to ten years in prison for “Abuse of Power in Performance of Official Duties.”
For the same crime, the court sentenced Ton That Hao (CEO of Dia Oc Dai A Joint Stock Company), Vo Thanh Trung (General Director of Dia Oc Dai A Joint Stock Company), and Nguyen Thanh Nhan (former General Director of Saigon Co.op) to five years in prison each, and Ho My Hoa (former Financial Director of Saigon Co.op) to three years in prison.
Four other defendants, charged with “Negligence causing serious consequences,” received sentences ranging from two to three years in prison.
“The Case of Mr. Diep Dung: A Reduced Sentence”
Diệp Dũng, the former top executive, stands accused of unilaterally directing the transfer of 1,000 billion VND from Saigon Co.op, resulting in losses amounting to over 115 billion VND for the company.
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