According to the representative of the High-Level People’s Procuracy in Ho Chi Minh City, all seven defendants have new mitigating circumstances.
Specifically, Mai Thi Hong Hanh (Director and Chairman of the Members’ Council of Xuyen Viet Oil) paid 6.7 billion VND, Le Duc Tho (former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Ben Tre) paid nearly 15 billion VND, Tran Duy Dong (former Head of the Domestic Market Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade) paid 500 million VND, Hoang Anh Tuan (former Deputy Head of the Domestic Market Department) paid 100 million VND, Nguyen Loc An (former Deputy Head) paid 100 million VND, Le Duy Minh (former Chief of Ho Chi Minh City Tax Department) paid 422 million VND, and Nguyen Thi Nhu Phuong (Deputy Director of Xuyen Viet Oil) paid 50 million VND.
Therefore, the Procuracy proposed reducing the sentence for Hanh by 18-24 months, for Tho by 5-7 years for both offenses, for Tran Duy Dong, Hoang Anh Tuan, and Le Duy Minh by 18-24 months, and for Nguyen Thi Nhu Phuong and Nguyen Loc An by 9-12 months.
In the defense of the defendant Le Duc Tho, the lawyer requested that the Court consider special mitigating circumstances. Tho’s family has made additional efforts to compensate for the damage, amounting to 15 billion VND.
The lawyer also analyzed that the first-instance verdict ordered the return of 133 savings books to the defendant. However, these books are still being “held up,” as the Security Investigation Agency of the Ministry of Public Security sent a document requesting banks to temporarily halt transactions pending further instructions. The lawyer argued that if the appellate court does not make a clear recommendation in the verdict regarding the retrieval of these savings books, it will be challenging during the execution of the sentence.
Regarding this issue, the Court stated that the first-instance verdict had ordered the return of the property. The decision of the investigation agency to issue a document temporarily halting transactions is within their independent authority and is beyond the scope of the court’s handling. When the verdict takes effect, the civil judgment enforcement agency will carry out the enforcement. If the properties are still related to other cases, the subsequent handling will be under the authority of the investigation agency.
In the defense of the defendant Mai Thi Hong Hanh, the lawyer argued that the case was only initiated after some employees of Xuyen Viet Oil filed a denunciation regarding the illegal use of assets, causing a loss of the fund for stabilizing gasoline and oil prices and the environmental protection tax.
After being prosecuted, Hanh voluntarily confessed to the act of bribery. This act was not previously discovered by the prosecuting agency. Therefore, the lawyer requested that the Court consider exempting Hanh from criminal responsibility for the act of “Offering bribes” (?!).
At the end of the debate, the Court announced that it would deliberate and issue a verdict on the morning of May 12.
According to the first-instance verdict, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Court ordered Le Duc Tho, former Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee of Ben Tre, to pay back 1.47 million USD and 300 million VND. The Court also decided to temporarily hold more than 440,000 USD, 25.6 billion VND, and a savings book to ensure the execution of the sentence. Additionally, the Court ordered the confiscation and submission to the state budget of a Mercedes Benz S450 car (worth approximately 6.6 billion VND) and five Patek Philippe watches, one of which is valued at 421,000 USD (nearly 10 billion VND) and was a bribe given to Tho by Mai Thi Hong Hanh during his term.
Regarding the 133 savings books and 97 gold bars seized during the investigation, the Court determined that they were not related to Le Duc Tho’s violations at Xuyen Viet Oil, so they were returned.
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